War on Bullshit

DMV, SSN... OMG

2010-08-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm not being fair. Like being angry at a retard. Today there was apparently some kind of problem with computers at the social security office which was why it was taking a very long time to process drivers licenses at the DMV.

Question: why does stuff FAIL so often around here? Why does it seem to be the rule and not the exception?

Oh shit... the screens turned blue. Must call tech support... uh...

DASH Bus Timetable

2010-08-22T18:02:00.001-07:00

Bus schedules are highly misleading, but DASH bus that operates in Virginia totally takes the piss.
I mean, what the hell does "Reduced Weekday Service Days" mean?

Bullshit: Reduced Weekday Service Days
What it really means: Weekday service

Basically, if you didn't know what it meant, you would think that the bus ran every 30 minutes (which is pretty bad). But on the left side of the schedule there is this "R" on every other line. So you wonder what it means and you look down and in a font small enough to fit on a grain of rice it says that it's some kind of "Reduced Weekday Service Day."
So what the fuck?
Does that mean that on some weekdays the bus services are reduced?
So which of the five weekdays are they talking about?
Turns out, ALL OF THEM.
Yes, they couldn't just say "Weekday Service" and have a disclaimer saying "Bus operates only on times indicated by 'Weekday Service' on week days." Because why? That would make them seem like a bunch of cheap lazy asses. Which is exactly what they are. So no, they have to confuse the fuck out of us to make it sound like we're the fucking morons for not being able to figure it out the first time we try to take the bus.
Seriously, how bad has euphemism come?
If they get into an accident, I might rescue them, but first they'll have to figure out when my "reduced weekday motivated hours" are.

Reduced Weekdays. Fucking reduce your life.

Dirty Tackle

2010-08-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know if any of you follow it but there's a Yahoo sports blog called Dirty Tackle that just might be the worst football blog I've ever seen with that level of exposure.

Bullshit: Dirty Tackle
The Truth: I guess it's all about who's dick you suck.

Now by no means am I saying that this blog rules, but the difference is I don't get paid for it. How such a no talented writer with seemingly little understanding of football managed to land that gig, I don't know.
Actually, I do know. It's not really about qualifications. It's about who you know and who you're chums with.
If I spent my day just digging up stuff about football and was told that I'd get paid to write something clever, I might just be able to pull it off. Not because I'm a great writer or anything, but because that blog is so incredibly average.

Superb article on how America is seen now

2010-08-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/09/post-anti-americanism.html?from=rss

The only part I disagree with is that Europe and the world's loss of appetite for war was about Afghanistan. It was mostly about Iraq and it has spilled over to Afghanistan as well, but the fact that European countries continue to send troops to Afghanistan shows that it is a war that people do believe is right. Badly run perhaps, but right nonetheless.

No World Cup Posts

2010-08-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

I realize that despite being a HUGE fan of football there has been no posts about the World Cup.
It's not that I didn't watch or didn't care.
I was out having too much fun and getting too drunk to be bothered with posting.
;)

Gyopos

2010-08-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

Basically covering Korean-Americans, Korean-Canadians etc.
There is this wide misunderstanding in countries like the US and Canada who think that these folks are actually like Koreans in Korea. This is actually not true. Korean-Americans and Korean-Canadians are a unique culture group. For simplicity sake, I'll refer to them as either Gyopos or Korean-Americans.

Common Misunderstanding: Korean-Americans are closer to being Korean than American.
The truth: Actually for the most part they are not very Korean at all.

Here's a typical Korean-American:
- Can't speak Korean very well.
- Was born in the US and has only rarely gone to Korea if at all. And when over there, couldn't really communicate with his relatives.
- His English sucks and has a funny accent which makes White people mistake him for being more Korean than he really is.
- Usually fat.
- Can't do math.

Also their image of Korea is this sort of mystical place that is perfect and cannot be touched. They have a blind sense of duty and patriotism towards a country where they have rarely if ever been and have a command of Korean so bad they can't decipher Korean text messages sent to their Korean cell phone. The truth is, they find comfort in Korea because they feel rejected by American society. Furthermore, the truth is that if these folks were in Korea, they'd probably get rejected as well.
Now, not all of these ethnic Koreans in the United States I think are Korean-Americans. Those who speak perfect English, have no issues with getting along with other Americans etc., are for all intents and purposes, Americans.
It's just those who have lived their entire lives in the US, yet feel a need to cluster together with other Korean-Americans who are bad at speaking either language.
Seems like the only part of America they were able to soak up was getting fat.
In Apkujeong in Seoul, if you are ever lost or need directions and don't know who to ask, ask a fat guy. He probably won't know where to go but he'll at least speak English.

Ask this guy

And don't let the accent fool you.
In Korea they try to exaggerate their Koreanness to try to prove how Korean they are in order to fit in. That is.
- When I say "Hey let's go grab a burger," they think I just committed treason for not choosing Korean food. WTF. I just feel like having some junk food today that's all.
- Grovel to their superiors and abuse their subordinates more than most real Koreans ever would.

All the while despite their so called "loyalty" etc., they don't ever seem to bother with immigrating back into South Korea and serving in the military. WTF.

Is it possible to be both Korean and American and not Korean-American? Yes. Very possible. I know several individuals who would in fact fall into this category.

So if some Korean-American tries to pull off some bullshit about "cultural difference," just remember that it is not a Korean to American cultural difference. It is a culture of a group of rejects who failed to adjust.

5,000 Views

2010-08-10T05:19:00.001-07:00

This blog has been viewed 5,000 times.
I suspect because of some of the earlier posts.
Yay.

DC Metro

2010-08-07T17:04:00.001-07:00

I have a feeling that the DC Metro's going to be featured here more often in the future...

Bullshit: DC Metro.
The Truth: It sucks.

There has been quite a few news articles regarding just how bad the DC Metro system is.
Here's one from FOX News, which surprisingly didn't attribute this to President Obama.
Here is a blog dedicated to updating you on how shit the DC Metro system is.
Here is a more recent one about the current air conditioning problems.
Etc.

Today on the red line trains going in both directions had to share the same platform. For anyone who had come in from the street or from a transfer, there was much confusion. Worst part was they didn't even bother to put up any signs. Instead they just broadcast announcements over the speaker system in bad English. The electronic boards weren't very informative either. For example, I have no idea what "-- - 4 minutes" is supposed to mean. Okay, something's coming in 4 minutes. But what?
This isn't the first time it's happened so you'd think that they would create some kind of sign about it but that would be giving DC Metro too much credit. That would be like expecting a brick to float.

Surprise, the train's not coming to that platform.

The prices for the tickets are expected to go up soon... damn I miss Seoul's subway system. Cheaper, better, hardly ever broken anywhere.
DC Metro is like a box of manure. You don't know what you're going to get until you open it but it'll always be some sort of shit.

Reading about old Wars

2010-08-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

I went to a Barnes and Nobles (a book store) the other day to finally read up on some history. The way things went in Iraq and how things are going in Afghanistan, thought it would be good to read about something relevant that would help me understand. Sure, books on both conflicts are fine, but I think they generally represent small views of ongoing wars. It is only wars that have ended, reviewed and carefully researched about that produce literature that's truly comprehensive.
So I went to find a book on the Malaya Emergency since it was among the few cases of a Western army beating a local insurgency.
I learned something completely different altogether.

Bullshit: Fixation about World War II.
The Truth: World War II is a war that's well past. The US hasn't won a truly major war since 1945 and it's because the US cannot think beyond World War II.

Just shelve it

Now I am in no way against remembering those who have fought for our freedoms and that of others in the past, but the problem with these World War II books is that they simply fix the way you see conflict and war in a purely conventional way. You will always see conflict through the lens of conventional warfare where divisions, mass attacks, heavy firepower and Generals who like to piss everybody else off reign supreme.
If you are a historian or a budding historian or history is your thing, by all means (though I think World War II has been read to death) go ahead and read World War II stuff. But if you're serious and you're in the business, STOP READING WORLD WAR II BOOKS. Wars in general have not been fought that way since the Korean War and this ogling over impressive OOBs (or ORBAT or O/B depending on who you are) etc. is a waste of time. In this day and age, if you're stocked up with division after division of soldiers, heavy equipment etc., unless you are facing a purely conventional foe with a purely conventional mission (like Gulf War I), you are wasting your time.

So wait, did I come up with this by reading the book I eventually found? Not really. I realized it when I found out just how HARD it was to find a book on Malaya. It wasn't a purely dedicated book on Malaya either, rather a comparison between Malaya and Vietnam and their implications on current counterinsurgency operations (Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife by John Nagl, a superb read). And there was only one copy in the store. Meanwhile there were three book shelves full of World War II books and two book shelves full of Vietnam books.
Basically when Americans think "history" that doesn't include the birth of their country or the civil war, it's about basking in the glory of a time long gone (World War II) or dealing with national pain (Vietnam).
What's there to learn about current wars from World War II? Nothing.
What's there to learn about current wars from Vietnam? Nothing if you think that the Generals actually did a good job and the civilian leadership ruined it for everyone. Bullshit. These World War II Generals didn't know the war they were fighting and sent people to their deaths for nothing.
Funny thing, when I read the book, the author John Nagl actually said the same thing.

Bottom line: stop reading World War II books. Read Vietnam books with caution. Read about the Malayan Emergency. Perhaps also Operation Artemis but I'm not sure if good literature is out regarding that.

Wearing Sunglasses Indoors

2010-07-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's been getting on my nerves and it's finally here....

Bullshit: Wearing sunglasses indoors

It's fucking rude. It's like keeping your earphones in while talking to someone. The worst part is, I see that most dudes wearing sunglasses indoors EVEN WHILE EATING are fat dudes. WTF. Seriously.
Or when I'm talking to you. Lose the fucking shades. Obviously it's not too sunny for me or anyone else around me to be wearing them. What, are you fucking blind? Lose the fucking shades and look me in the fucking eye.
I guess the reason why they love having shades on is because of this errr... "intimidation" factor. The purpose is not without precedent. Chinese emperors actually wore sunglasses while meeting others because it would intimidate them. The cold-distant and impersonal feel of sunglasses... almost makes it look like you're not talking to a real person.

Douche bag

Especially if you're a fat dude. Wearing sunglasses indoors doesn't make you cool. It makes you fat AND extremely rude. Eat while you're at it and you're displaying very poor table manners at the same time.
We should start a movement. LAUGH at people who wear sunglasses indoors. Just make sure they're actually not blind.

Freedom of Speech is Dead

2010-07-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Guaranteed by law under the first ammendment, the Freedom of Speech is one of the most cherished values of the United States.
However, although it is protected legally, it is not honored individually.

Bullshit: Americans enjoy the freedom of speech more so than anyone else.
The truth: Actually, Americans don't enjoy the freedom of speech very much at all.

Before you think I'm nuts, think about the last meeting with friends you had (not in college). What did you talk about? The counter top? The wine? The food? The dog? The cat? The car? Anything but the world, news, politics etc. Anything but things that matter to us. So in many ways it's like you met them, said some stuff, but one thing stays the same: you leave without having learned anything.
But when with friends from other parts of the world, we'd talk about just about anything. We make fun of our own countries, talk about world events, about personal experiences and what they mean... so why is it that whenever I sit down with other Americans, this just simply halts and we're back to engaging in conversation that simply serves as a distractor?
Sometimes I'll start a topic like the ones I mentioned with a group of Americans to see what their reaction is and they immediately start getting very uncomfortable. They avoid it and try to switch the topic to something else. I'm sure if I pressed it further they'd try to avoid me altogether eventually.
So you see my friends, freedom of speech in America is actually also an illusion. Where millions of people sit at the lunch table or grab a smoke and talk about the world, disagree and still greet each other the next day with genuine smiles it seems to be an impossibility in the United States.

Why?

I guess there are many reasons.
One, I think at some point Americans have become too small inside and have developed very thin skin. Never at any point have they thought that if they can't explain their belief very well, that there is a possibility that they may be wrong.
Ultimately, I think the biggest culprit is the cable "news" services.

Selling Hate

They have rubbed our heads together like roosters in a... er... cock fight and we've gotten to the point where we are so angry at each other (since they make money off inciting hate) that we can't for a minute try to sit back and understand each other's views or even have the patience to see how the other party even see the world.
Free speech. Dead. Thanks to free speech of inciting hate and intolerance.

A whole list of what's Bullshit

2010-07-09T12:08:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I wrote anything and here's why. It's been a very, very long few months.

Oh, say can you see? They fucking crushed my pizza!

1) I actually moved. I called the moving company the night before to make sure they would be at my address. They said they'd be there, definitely. So the next morning I waited, waited and waited. Nothing. I called, no one answered. It was like the whole company got drunk and plastered on Friday night and no one gave a fuck about their Saturday schedule. I called another company which showed up (late, but shit at least they showed up) and managed to move. I did mention that this happened in the USA right? And not just the middle of nowhere either. This is the nation's capital. Oh and the guys who showed up did a fine job and both were foreigners.
Bullshit: Hard working Americans.

2) I called to have my internet connected and had to wait 9 days for the guy to show up. 9 days. Acceptable if you live in the middle of nowhere. In Washington, DC, unacceptable.
Bullshit: Efficient American businesses.

3) Around June 25th - now there was a dead deer on the south side of the Key Bridge (the one in DC) just ten, maybe twenty feet away from a sidewalk where thousands of pedestrians pass by each day. It's still kind of there. No one cleaned it up and I know at least one person called it in. You'd think that even a dead deer by a frequented trail in a national park would be cleaned up but apparently not even one in the middle of a city is worth cleaning up. The smell was just incredible and no doubt a health hazard. Wow... just wow. Knowing how Americans don't ignore these things, I'm sure that more than one person called it in. What probably happened was the various police and other agencies pushed the responsibility around so although the actual deer didn't move, the paperwork regarding it ran laps around Arlington County.
Bullshit: American sense of duty.

4) Ordered a pizza to commemorate the opening of my new place. Pizza arrived late, crushed to one side. Last time this happened to me, it was in Malaysia about fifteen years ago. I have ordered many pizzas in many different countries. Never had it arrived in such piss poor shape.
Bullshit: Tips. Fuck you, asshole.

Fucking sounds like I'm writing about a 3rd world country.
Korea took a smacking while I was there but America does prove that it will try really hard at being number 1! AT PISSING ME OFF.

Stereotypes

2010-04-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

"No It's Not True" - a good sign that it may be.

A few days ago my Chinese teacher was telling our class about what life in China is like. Her descriptions of walking outside at night, where the streets are brightly lit with signs and streetlights reminded me of Korea. She also went on to say that the Chinese are among the most friendly and warm hearted people she has ever known. I said to the class that it reminded me of Korea, except that in Korea the people are nastier.
People got pissed and not one was Korean.
So here's the thing... are stereotypes wrong?

Bullshit: Stereotypes are wrong.
The Truth: Sometimes they are remarkably accurate.

I recall this one time years ago when me and some Asian guys were in a room reading a list of "Asian stereotypes" that were apparently funny. Everyone had a good laugh and I'd say about seventy percent of the time, a stereotype was accurate, that is, when one was read, it applied to almost everyone in the room... Granted, six people is not a huge sample size, but if a pattern emerges, it's hard to ignore. And the word came out, "Man, these things are pretty accurate." Everyone had a laugh and nodded.
But.
Suddenly if the stereotype is not so "funny" it's wrong?
Where is the logic in that?
The stereotype was perfectly valid and reasonably accurate when it was funny, but when replaced with one that is somewhat offensive (if you're sensitive) suddenly it's all wrong and inaccurate and incorrect? What kind of logical brain fart of a bullshit is that?
Utter bullshit, that's what.

Yes, Asian people from China, Korea and Japan kind of look like this (above). Am I allowed to say that or do I have to say that there is no way to tell because there is the absolute miniscule and utterly improbable (but I suppose not impossible) chance that one may pop out looking like this?

Right. You can see how this is bullshit already. Clear as fucking day.
Oh, but how they kind of look isn't a stereotype you say? Well what about when someone makes a mention about the shape of the eyes of most Chinese people? Now it's a stereotype and it's not acceptable anymore. Now here's my question, what's wrong with the shape of the eyes of a typical Chinese person? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You'd be a fucking asshole to make fun of it, but you'd be a fucking moron to deny it as well.

Which is why it is important that we question the things we are NOT ALLOWED to question. Because when we are NOT ALLOWED to question something, that something is probably caked in bullshit and wouldn't last five minutes in a real debate.

It is wrong to judge an individual by the stereotype of their group right off the bat, but to dismiss a stereotype as being totally inaccurate when it does in fact have truth to it is wrong. If we are to go down that path, we might as well not even go to school. We might as well forfeit the right to think.

Race is Not a Factor

2010-04-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend generally about this and that and an interesting subtopic came up while we during our little debate. He claimed race is not a real factor. Being a successful guy and a Chinese-American, one could say that he has a point, but it was fairly easy to prove that it was bullshit.

Bullshit: Race is never really a factor.
The Truth: It is.

Working for the US government as a minority in a white collar job, he is probably the most protected human being ON THE PLANET. Just because race no longer affects him doesn't mean that it is the reality that the rest of the world lives with.

Case 1:
You are an average Indonesian in Indonesia. You try hard and you find work. About 90% of the time, if it is a business that has any real power and wealth (that is, it is not some corner music store that sells hand made guitars) your boss is Chinese-Indonesian. Chinese-Indonesians basically never promote regular Indonesians to upper management. So you work your ass off for years and years at the company only for the upper management to hardly realize that you have been there for almost twenty years. For twenty years you have basically been doing the same damned thing and in terms of the rank structure, you are the same as some punk ass kid who just walked in last week.
Try telling this guy that race is not a factor in life.

Candidate for Promotion? Sorry, wrong color.

Case 2:
You are an African American male who wants to see the world but don't have the money. Being a strict pacifist, you decide that you do not want to join the military. You hear about English teaching opportunities in East Asia and get excited. You have a bachelor's degree in English and you immediately contact head hunters and Hagwons about openings. They want your resume and a photo attached. They see you are black and they reject you. This goes on for a whole year or so. Meanwhile some other guys you met with the same goals are getting hired, even without a bachelor's degree. They're getting hired because they're White.
You feel so disgusted that you just decide that the rest of the world can go fuck itself.
Tell this guy that race is not a real factor in life.

A guy like him would have trouble landing a job in Korea because of his race. It is WRONG and it is REALITY.

Just because it is not your problem does not mean it is not a real problem.

"Security" Questions

2009-12-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

Every time I visit the US I get stopped by security (either Customs and Border Protection or the Transport Security Authority) and get asked a series of questions. They are stupid questions but few people have any idea of just how silly they are. Questions like "did you pack the bags yourself" seem very sensible compared to the questions I'm asked. But if I just told you the questions they ask me, you may not be able to realize how stupid they are, so I'll just flip it around so it all makes sense.

Bullshit: The "additional" questions that CBP and TSA ask at airports to foreigners are vital to national security.

The Truth: The "additional" questions that CBP and TSA ask at airports to foreigners only makes an ass out of America.

The scenario: Mr. Alan Johnson is from New York state. He is 27 years old, White, upper middle class and protestant. He was born and raised in New York city but attended high school in Mexico because his parents started a successful business there. He returned to the US to attend college and lives there. He is a US citizen and so are his parents. All his documentation reflects this. One day he decides to visit a foreign country. He thinks everything will be routine but upon arrival he's pulled assigned for additional questioning.

Immigration Officer: Mr. Alan Johnson?

AJ: Yes?

IO: Are you in any way affiliated with the KKK?

AJ: Excuse me?

IO: Are you a member of the KKK?

AJ: No.

IO: Are you a member of the Black Panthers?

AJ: NO.

IO: Are any of your family members or relatives members of the KKK or Black Panthers?

AJ: No.

IO: Are you associated with any Militia?

AJ: No.

IO: Are any of your relatives a member of any Militia?

AJ: (Slight hesitation) No.

IO: You hesitated. Why?

AJ: Alright... I have this one distant relative. We don't really talk...

IO: Hmmm... (takes notes). Are you a citizen of Mexico?

AJ: No.

IO: Are your parents Mexican citizens?

AJ: No.

IO: So you are not Mexican?

AJ: No.

IO: Are you sure?

AJ: YES.

IO: What do your parents do in Mexico?

AJ: They own a business.

IO: What kind of business?

AJ: Logistics.

IO: Are they involved in illegal narcotics production or transport?

AJ: No.

IO: They are not Mexican?

AJ: No.

IO: Were you born in Mexico?

AJ: No, I was born in New York.

IO: Okay... wait a minute please.

(Comes back ten minutes later)

IO: Okay, I have signed a series of waivers. Here, here, here, here and here. Make sure you sign out with us when you leave the country. The Pope is coming in two days. You must be excited.

AJ: Uhhh yeah...

YES. That's what it's like. It's fucking ridiculous!

Hitler Isn't the Only Mega Asshole

2009-10-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

This topic actually arose out of some debate about Communists and whatnot but this particular subtopic came to light when for some reason, Communists were being given some sort of "free pass" by folks engaged in the debate while Hitler was being crucified like it was going out of fashion. Now I'm not being a Nazi apologist or anything because it is true that Hitler was evil, the Nazis were also evil and they did some absolutely deplorable things. However...

Bullshit: The Nazis were historically unique in terms of evil because of the fact that they organized the mass murder of specific kinds of people in large numbers to execute mass murder in the most efficient way.
The Truth: Quite a few groups of people have murdered people in mass in the most efficient way they could find.

When the Nazis were faced with the task of having to murder Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and other folks (after they stopped killing the crippled and retarded), they faced the dillemma of having to kill off millions of people. The use of ammunition would be too expensive and ammunition was needed badly by their soldiers fighting the war. So what resulted was the construction of death camps where gassing to death was the order of the day.

Dachau Concentration Camp.

But was this so unique? I say no.
So the Germans felt that their most efficient way to kill millions of people was to use the gas chamber. Others had a different approaches...

The Mongols
The Mongols had a unique problem when they first started empire building in that their entire population did not number a million while their conquered lands had populations exceeding tens of millions in total. Their dire problem was the possibility of simply drowning in the massive population that they conquered. What if they rose up? The Mongols would never have enough men to police them all. So the solution was to kill as many people as they could.
Their first major massacre worthy of note was the massacre of the Tartars where every male that was taller than the axle of a wagon was put to death.
Cities in northern China which did not surrender quickly enough for Genghis Khan's liking were also flattened and every last soul put the the sword.
It is believed that the Mongols under Genghis Khan may have killed up to forty million (40,000,000!!!!!!) people and perhaps as much as a hundred million by the time his grandson, Kublai Khan, had died.
It was even claimed (though it is impossible) that Genghis Khan killed about 1.7 million people in one hour! An impossible feat, but the story refers to the massacre of Nishapur, a Persian city that the Mongols had conquered. In the process, one of his favorite son in laws was killed. His wife (therefore Genghis Khan's daughter) asked that every last woman and child in Nishapur be killed.
Genghis Khan did so and more, by even having every animal in the city killed. 1.7 million was the estimated population of Nishapur before the massacre.
The way the folks were killed were probably a lot worse than getting gassed.

If you shat your pants before you waved the white flag, you're already too late.

Rwanda
Hutu Power members killed about a million people in a period of five months in 1994. Timed perfectly with the assasination of Habyarimana, the President of Rwanda since 1973, the killing spree was well organized and vicious. It was rumored that machetes were actually imported in large quantities to ensure there was enough to go around. These may have been a part of the four major weapon caches known to the UN to be a part of a larger plan for a genocide. A key part of their strategy were the radio stations which constantly played Hutu Power propaganda, encouraging people to go out and kill the Tutsis. Radio Rwanda was one of the main broadcasters of such messages and the tactic was a resounding success for the Hutu Power movement.
Led by Gregoire Kayibanda, the Hutu Power movement was surely violent enough to be considered equivilent to Hitler's genocide as well. Consider that one million would have been 20% of the population during this time.
Between getting gassed to death and getting hacked to pieces by a machete, I elect getting gassed. Many of the Hutus who perished would have agreed. When it was clear that the Belgian Peacekeepers would have to abandon a large group of Hutu refugees who were being protected at Murambi Technical School, they asked the Belgians to shoot them so they would not have to face the machetes. The Belgians obviously declined. Outside the Hutus waited, drinking beer and singing hate songs. As the Belgians left, the Hutus entered.

I guess Kayibanda is less evil than Hitler since he only killed black people.

Cambodia
The Killing Fields really needs no introduction. Led by Pol Pot in his quest to create a true Communist Utopia, it quickly became the process of the creation of death camps where death could come for any reason. Past occupation, softness of your hands, eye glasses. The result was the death of perhaps two million people. Two hundred thousand were executed formally by the Khmer Rouge and the rest died from starvation, disease, undocumented execution and other ways one usually dies when working in a death labor camp. And this is a country that had seven million people at the time.
Facing the same problem as the Nazis of needing to use too many bullets to execute that many people, they resorted to using sharpened bamboo sticks (a very bad way to go), hammers, axe handles etc., often after being forced to dig their own graves.
Torture victims were recorded and documented in German precision.
Yet even this is not unique. The creation of death labor camps and mass executions is pretty consistent among many Communist countries. Why mass murder by Communist regimes aren't taken very seriously is beyond me.
Cambodia under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge... just as bad, if not worse than Nazi Germany in terms of mass murder.

Just as evil as Hitler but somehow manages to get off the hook. I guess you're not completely evil if you don't slaughter White people.

And of course by no means are these it. Actually you'll find a lot of Communist countries fit the bill as well and why Communism is allowed to go while Nazism is scrutinized to beyond death and beyond afterlife is a mystery.
One thing is for certain. Human history has had its share of world class assholes and Hitler was not alone at the top.

Buddhist at the Supermarket

2009-09-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been forever since I wrote anything but trust me, I have been insanely busy.

Today I was at the supermarket minding my own business until I saw a devout Buddhist follower, a female, gray tunic and shaven head and all, getting her food at the local supermarket.

Bullshit: Buddhist shopping at the supermarket.
The way it's supposed to be done: Buddhist foraging for food in the mountains, in harmony with nature, asking permission if it is okay to take a piece of life for one's own sustenance.

It doesn't just stop there. The whole purpose of having your clothes gray, hair shaven and all is to renounce your attachment to any luxuries and to live a very frugal and humble life. Luxuries must be abandoned in search of the truth... and the last time I checked, supermarkets were a luxury.
Truth is, it doesn't just end with supermarkets. You see them with their gray tunics and shaven heads in the subway, taking the aeroplane and in buses as well.
I don't have a problem with folks who just mildly believe in Buddhism purchase luxury goods and all, after all, very few people of any faith follow their religion down to the word. But fanatics are the ones that get me. If you're going so far as to make your female ass ugly by shaving off all your hair and wearing some drab tunic, your ass better be going all the way.

No luxury my ass. Half these assholes took the subway to get here. A quarter took a bus and some schmuck had the insolence to ride a fucking cab.

Dear bald Buddhist lady, just grow out your hair, go to the supermarket and go about your daily life. Or shave your head and be all Buddhist and please do not come down to the town where the evil demon spirited people live.

Dokdo - a very politicized piece of worth of real estate

2009-07-20T00:54:00.001-07:00

According to this blog by Brian Deutsch, the Korea Herald is reporting that Japan will lay fresh claims on Dokdo, known as Takeshima by the Japanese and called the Liancourt Rocks when parties wish to refer to it without pissing anyone off.
So what is this Dokdo?
Here is a Wikipedia entry for those who wish to find out a little more about the islet itself.
Since this is a Korea based blog, I will be focusing mostly on Korea's sentiment towards these rocks.

Bullshit: The Japanese encroachment or claims on Dokdo are a national security threat to not just South Korea, but to all of Korea.
The Truth: Japan's politicians use it as a way to get people's focus away from real problems such as their troubled economy by means of nationalism and South Korea's reaction to it is largely led by extremists who use nationalism to get the masses to follow them blindly down some very destructive paths.

Chemical Composition: C9H9N (100% Pure Bullshit)

How Dokdo Works For Both Sides
Japan:
Dokdo works for both sides in that, as stated above, the Japanese politicians use it as a way to divert attention away from their real problems and try to get their population behind them through nationalism. Where the politicians and the industries fail, they appeal to nationalism to try to hide their problems. It is a tactic used time and time again, very much like how General Leopoldo Galtieri, who became head of the Argentinian Government in December 1981, invaded the Falklands mostly because Argentina was going through a severe economic crisis.
The difference would be that Argentina actually invaded, whereas Japan, with the eyes of world opinion upon them are highly unlikely to do so militarily, but rather, diplomatically through the use of world opinion.
Korea:
South Korea on the other hand should know this but extremists (usually ultra nationalists who are oddly enough, the left wing in Korea) have a different agenda in which gaining followers is their primary goal. They use the Japanese actions regarding Dokdo to pent up nationalistic fervor and get people behind them in their cause. Of course it never really is about Dokdo itself. It always becomes another anti-foreign (especially anti-American), isolationalist movement in no time and because people are so overcome with emotion, they don't stop to think what it's really about.

The power of high school grade theater

The Effects
I can't say for sure how things turn out in Japan, simply becuase I'm not there to check it out myself though I do know that any Asian person who actually manages to hear about it somehow would disapprove of Japan's actions due to Japan's history in the region during the first half of the 20th century.
As regards to Korea, it does nothing but get Korea further and further away from legitimacy over Dokdo and weakens Korea's standing in the intenational stage.
The constant protests, the spreading of xenophobic, anti-foreign, isolationist propaganda simply turns the rest of the world away from Korea both in terms of the every day person's view of Korea and the diplomatic and economic view of Korea.

The Average Joe:
The average Joe usually doesn't care about South Korea but sometimes he might get a look at yet another protest in South Korea and that is all he will see. A bunch of people who are always angry at just about everything. He doesn't care about the history of the rocks etc etc.
"DO YOU KNOW? DOKDO BELONGS TO KOREA."
"I don't care."
And why should they? It's a pathetically small islet which serves no function and has no real population.
For people not really emotionally attached to Korea who know about it, it's just another disputed territory piss fight, one of hundreds that can be found just about anywhere in the world.
All it does is make Koreans hate foreigners and foreigners hate Korea in response. No one likes being around unpleasant people who are hateful of them. Koreans included. All the rules that apply to everyone else also applies to Korea. But try telling that to a Korean.

Screw the T-shirt. Actually...

Diplomatic
As xenophobic, isolationist leaders gain power and influence in South Korea (like Noh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung) they make decisions that further alienate Korea from the rest of the world. Lots of countries joined in on the War on Terror. Whereas many did not participate in hostilities in Iraq (or soon pulled out when it was established that no WMDs were present), many did join the hostilities in Afghanistan where the threat IS real. The Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Canada (among many others) provided definitive combat operations in the theater, but due to Korean anti-Americanism, South Korea did not.
Japan provided what it could under its strict laws restricting the use of their Self Defense Force.
South Korea could have easily sent troops into combat legally but refused to do so.
Although South Korea is a signatory of the Mutual Defense Pact with the United States it did not participate fully in Afghanistan. One can argue that it is not a violation since it is not a declared war against a sovreign state, but one can see how it is a violation in the spirit of the agreement.
What this does is raise Japan's image in the view of the world and it lowers South Korea's. The next time the two have a diplomatic conflict over Dokdo and the eyes of the world opinion matter, the world very well could back Japan overwhelmingly.

Chung Sye Kyun, the leader of the Uri Party (the one that really hates America)

Economic
Who the hell wants to invest in a country that is always having strikes, protests etc., the labor prices are high and the environment is hostile towards foreigners?
I'm surprised anyone even bothers doing business with South Korea.

Dokdo is simply a political tool used by leaders who are in trouble or by aspiring leaders who have nothing to offer and need to rely on hate, emotion and extreme nationalism to get anything done.

Simplified Through Cola
Another fine comparison would be to this kind of Korean Cola that was around. It was called 815 COLA and was supposed to be the National Cola of Korea (though it is in no way endorsed by the government). August 15th is Korea's day of independence after 35 odd years of official colonization under the Empire of Japan. 815 COLA appealed to nationalism to sell its product because the product itself was horrible.
Eventually people were fed up with buying lousy Cola and just went straight for the foreign brands.

There's no national smear crime like putting your flag on a very bad product

Same deal with policies. Bad policies set by nationaistic fervor and pent up emotion will lead to disaster very much the same way, except instead of a Company arrogant enough to try to use nationalism to sell their product going bankrupt, the country's national power would suffer badly.

Can Music Save the World? - No.

2009-07-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is a response to a welcoming speech made by Karl Paulnack, Director of Music at the Connecticut Conservatory which is one of the top music colleges in the world, rated higher than even Juliard.

You can find a copy of the speech here.

It is simply too long for me to post here so let me just cut it down sweet and simple and include the one key part that needs to be challenged. Although I did find myself agreeing with most of what he had said, it was the end which got me saying "that is such bullshit."

Bullshit: (this is the final part of his speech)
"Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music;
I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness
on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual
understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don't expect it will come
from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even
expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem
to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future
of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these
invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come
from the artists, because that's what we do. As in the concentration
camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be
able to help us with our internal, invisible lives." - Karl Paulnack.
The Truth: Although music is great and plays a big role in our lives, in our cultures and civilization as a whole, it's not going to save the world and is subject to limitations and problems that other things have.

Music Divides
Music can divide as much as it can unite.
If only the person saying this ever listened to the hateful songs that permeate throughout the world. The hateful Jihadist music, hateful anti-establishment music the world over, the "ibne hakem" chants (sort of like music) that can be heard in Turkish football stadiums... music can unite, but it can also divide and it can be a very powerful tool in division.
So in a way, it's not very good at uniting and building peace any more than many other things in the world such as economics, violence and information.

There was a lot of singing in this rally too. Hint: it wasn't "Give Peace a Chance"

Music Makes All The Difference?
Let's compare two TV shows. One is based on a true story and it's called Generation Kill. It was a mini-series based on a book written by an embedded journalist who was with some Force Recon Marines during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It had no musical score until the very end of the series and that scene, in my opinion was one of the weaker scenes in the entire series. The show had no introduction theme and had no credits theme. Only the trailer/"previously on" had a slight musical sequence but no one paid any attention to it.
Another TV show that was somewhat similar, though fiction, was Over There, which followed a fireteam from the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division. It didn't even survive the first season despite the fact that it had a very good musical score.
Both were similar in terms of setting and both were obviously expensively made.
Yet the show without the musical score actually gained great reception, while Over There, with its great opening and closing music never got far.
Music didn't make enough of a difference.
But if we are to believe the speech, the TV show without music should have never have stood a chance.

Generation Kill - may have killed the composer.

Over There - in the discount section.

Overstating The Importance of One's Own World
People often overstate the importance of their own world.
A psychologist will tell you that the human mind and what's in it is just about everything.
An economist will tell you that money is everything.
The infantryman will tell you that the infantry is the most important.
The artilleryman will tell you that artillery is the king of the battlefield.
The sailor will tell you that control of the seas IS national power.
A teacher will tell you that without good teachers and good education, there is no future.
Consider that this speech was given at a welcoming speech. The guy is not going to say "dear parents, you're going to be spending about $60,000 a year on your kid learning something irrelevent." You're going to tell them "your kids are going to learn the most important thing in the whole world." Only THAT would justify such a hefty price tag that comes with college education.
He is simply one of many people who overstates the importance of his own line of work.

Screw world peace, he needs to make your parents feel good about parting with their money

All in all, it was a nice little speech, but like many nice speeches, it uses elements of truth to sell a great big lie. Music is not going to save the world. Music causes division as well as unity. It's just hard to ask parents to fork out tens of thousands of dollars each year so their kid can either sing or play a violin at a higher level.

Corruption In Miss Korea Contest?

2009-07-12T03:46:00.000-07:00

They tell us that Miss Korea (or Miss Whatever) contests are not a beauty contest in its entirity, but that beauty is a factor. Just then WHY, I ask you is that we end up with these sort of fails?

Left: Miss Korea 2008, Right: Miss Korea 2009

Bullshit: It's because it's not a complete beauty contest.
The Truth: Because the competition is rigged.

Call me Mr. Conspiracy Theorist, but seriously, I think we need a closer view of the contestants to really get the full picture.

Miss Korea 2008

Seriously.... and it gets worse.

Miss Korea 2009

Or if that's not good enough for you,

Can you believe it? I can't.

No, I'm not one of those losers on the internet who see an obviously HOT chick and say "bleh, she's average," or "WTF OMFG She's UGLY" when in reality the only action they ever get is limited to left hand, right hand and canteloupe.
But this is serious.
South Korea, is one of those countries that seem to have an unlimited supply of hot women, and highly educated women, so how on earth did these two win the competition? Notice the swimsuit picture and you'll see that the one behind her is even worse.
There are more attractive women (some of which I assume have some level of college or graduate school education) who walk the streets of Seoul every day. I see them every time I go outside, pretty much without fail, not because I go looking for them, but simply because there are so many of them.

There really is only one explanation: Corruption. The competition is obviously rigged and what beauty or qualification the women have, has little to do with the final outcome. It's actually fairly common in Korea to have rigged contests. Art contests are probably best known for being rigged because an 'expert' has to show up and endorse a certain art piece. In Korea, name and reputation is simply everything. You buy the 'expert' and you have your award.
I guess the same goes for the Miss Korea competition as well.

The Propaganda of Kimchi

2009-07-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I went to the Kimchi museum at the Seoul World Trade Center. Being in Korea, I just had to see what they had to say about the one side dish that has become the center of a nation's pride. That's quite a title to be held for what is often described as "pickled cabbage."
However, even in this museum I have found evidence of a propaganda that permeates throughout the country. Actually, it's not so much evidence, but the lack of evidence.
There is simply no mention about the origins of Kimchi's two most important ingredients: chili pepper and garlic.

Bullshit: Kimchi is a purely and uniquely Korean product.
The Truth: Without the Columbian exchange, Kimchi would not be anything like it is today.

Why this is significant:
There is this belief that anything purely Korean is good and anything foreign is suspect or at the very least, unpatriotic. Imagine back in the 1600s when garlic and chili pepper first entered Korea. There probably wasn't anything more alien than those two strange plant products. One grew in the ground and had a strong taste and smell (more so than jinseng), the other was a long "fruit" of sorts which was not sweet but burned your mouth.
It was as ALIEN as you could ever get.
Yet now it is a part of a uniquely Korean side dish.
But credit for as to where garlic and chili comes from seems to be some sort of secret, as if they're embarrassed that their national dish's most important ingredients are not indigenous to the land they dish belongs to.
The truth, that it was introduced to Korea as a result of the Columbian Exchange, dares Korea to open up and accept foreign influences. There are many groups in Korea who can never accept such a thing.

All this decoration and display and not even a one liner about where garlic and chili came from

In A Folk Tale:
The lie has even affected Korean folk tales. There is a story about the founder of Korea Tan Keun, who offered a bear and a tiger a deal. They would have to stay in a cave for 100 days eating nothing but herbs and garlic. The tiger didn't make it past 30 days, but the bear stayed the full 100 days and became a human woman and married the son of God and became the mother of all Koreans.
What's wrong with the picture here?
It's almost like the first guys who told the story or added garlic into the story, never realized that garlic was never native to Korea and the lie continued. Not only that, the so called fairy tale that is supposedly extremely ancient either isn't, or underwent some serious revision somewhere along the way.

Different kinds of Kimchi

It makes me question even more things: is the cabbage native to Korea?
And more importantly, why is it so important that something be "purely" Korean?
They claim that Kimchi contains more Lactic Acid Bacteria (which attacks the Helicobacter pylori) than Yoghurt, but no one has ever answered: how much Lactic Acid Bacteria is too much?

Koreans will tell you that their food and cuisine go back thousands of years, but considering how important gartlic and chili pepper is in their food and how recent their introduction was, you can pretty much discount most of that talk.

All this propaganda makes everything about the food unbelievable and in fact, suspect.

Honduras - It's not a coup d'etat

2009-07-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of stuff flying around in the news about a coup d'etat in Honduras. It's not a coup d'etat, at least not in the capacity that we know of it. The Western press have largely called it a huge blow to democracy, but was it really? Let's find out.

Bullshit: The military in Honduras staged a coup d'etat.
The truth: The military in Honduras was ordered by the National Congress and the Court to remove President Zelaya from office for attempting to break the law and end democracy.

Modern day Mussolini, except more incompetent and less charismatic

What Happened:
Zelaya attempted to change the constitution making the maximum number of terms for a President unlimited. Sound familiar? The National Congress voted against it.
Then failing that he attempted to conduct a poll among the people to see if he could use that to pass his new "ammendment." Doesn't seem very illegal, but somehow also seems not so legal since you're circumventing the proper channels (i.e. the National Congress). However, what most Western publications fail to emphasize is that Zelaya wanted the military to conduct "logistical support" for this poll. This of course sent alarm bells ringing throughout the National Congress and the military itself (who wanted no part in this).
When President Zelaya ordered General Vasquez to conduct this poll, the General consulted with legal authorities about the matter and then refused to carry it out. President Zelaya fired the General for not carrying out the order.
Zelaya then attempted to go ahead with the poll anyway despite warnings and so the National Congress decided to act. The military was ordered to remove Zelaya from office and Roberto Micheletti was instated as temporary President until the end of the term which is in November of 2009 (this year).
(Compiled by both me and a Spanish speaking friend)

Important things to consider:
Zelaya was obviously trying to be the next Chavez and was pretty much determined to end the democracy in Honduras, turning it into another Venezuela style dictatorship.

Why was General Vasquez's firing highly controversial to the point where the National Congress did not recognize the General's firing and the Chiefs of Staff of every branch of the military turned in their resignations? It is because you cannot be fired or legallly punished for refusing to follow in illegal order. That is what Zelaya's orders for the military to conduct the poll was: illegal.

General Vasquez refused to follow an illegal order

No General currently is heading the government, officially or unofficially.

Zelaya is lucky that Honduras has come a long way. Years ago he would have either succeeded or he and his family would have been shepherded to the basement of his palace where they would have been riddled with bullets.

Roberto Micheletti belongs to the same political party as Zelaya, the Liberal Party.

The Conclusion:
Depending on how the elections go in November 2009, that is, that they prove to be fair, this would be in fact not a defeat for democracy but a major victory for it. There is nothing wrong with having a system (and people with the courage) in place to challenge actions taken by a President who wishes to end democracy and bring in dictatorship in its place (especially when the democracy is working just fine).

The Western media condemns the actions by the military, but what if, back in the 1930's the German Army decided that Hitler (who was democratically elected) was a threat to German society and democracy, overthrew him and reinstated democracy? Would we be accusing the German Army of committing a serious crime?

Although I am generally in support of President Barack Obama, the condemnation by him and others on the Honduras issue is one I am very much against. Depending on what happens on November 2009, I think a lot of heads of government will owe Honduras' military and National Congress an apology.
Maybe leftist pussies the world over can't seem to recognize courageous and righteous action when they see one.

Honoring a Friend

2009-06-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

It is with my deepest regret that a friend of mine has passed away.
Steven Zeluff has passed away at the young age of 47.

The article regarding his passing can be found at this link.

I knew him only online, but we had some great discussions on milforum (under the nickname Rock45) about aircraft. He knew a lot about airplanes and was an authoritative reference for many of us. Many of us there are or were military, he did not have a chance to serve but he was still a good friend to us. I found out that he passed away hours earlier and just now I found out that he was the only person who had listed himself as a follower of my blog. It had not been long since he had done that since even as recent as two or three weeks ago I think I didn't have any. I was really shocked and surprised at not only his passing but at finding out that he had subscribed just days earlier.
I remember when I first talked to him on milforum's chat channel and was surprised that he was in his forties.

Rest well my friend, it's really sad to see you go.

I was going to post something about Michael Jackson's passing (actually something in defense of his reputation) but it doesn't seem to be the appropriate time...

Iran IS a democracy

2009-06-17T18:18:00.001-07:00

There's been a lot of talk about how Iran's not really a democracy but really it is a democracy. A troubled democracy since the latest results were almost certainly fabricated, but until that happened, their democracy was quite legitimate.

Bullshit: Iran is a dictatorship since the ultimate authority belongs to the Ayatollah.
The Truth: Iran is a democracy, the Ayatollah acts as a part of their version of the checks and balances.

Some comparisons have been drawn between the Iranian political system of electing officials and that of Kuwait. The difference is that in Iran, the President actually does the governing while the Ayatollah rarely intervenes and does so only if he believes the actions are unIslamic and is at odds with the spirit of their revolution. In Kuwait, although authorities may be elected and do have some function, the Emir does the majority of the governing, a vast difference to that of Iran.
Kuwait's system could be roughly compared to that of Singapore under Lee Kwan Yew where there would be a President and a Prime Minister but Lee Kwan Yew did the actual governing as Senior Minister.

I'm not a fan either but he was legitimate the first time around.

The current results in Iran's polls have actually reflected that Iran was a democracy and now that it is under threat, the people are extremely upset. It's not quite the picture that our leaders try to paint to us and sort of reminds me of what I asked a few years ago: we could democratize a country, but what if they vote in the terrorists? I was called a lot of bad things at the time, but knowing what happened in the Gaza strip, I wasn't wrong at all and although Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a terrorist per se, Iran does support various terrorist groups operating in Iraq and against Israel.
But that's besides the point, they are/were a democracy.

Picking Candidates
Yes, Iran's Ayatollah has to approve who can run for election but that isn't too alien if you remember that in the United States, the very rich elite decides who can run for election as well. Without their money, you can't even pretend to be running for President. Maybe it's why regardless of who is elected, the outcome seems just about the same.

What lies in the future for Iranian democracy is to be seen. Will this be a once off, will the Ayatollah be forced to call for another election or is it a dangerous precedence for the future?

Video of Protests May 29th 2009

2009-06-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

I've talked about it, and here's the video of it. All original. I went to take photos and videos of the demonstrations. It's a pretty long video so I had to cut the quality to make it an acceptable size.

A lot of the chanting has to do with stuff like:
"Down with Lee Myung-bak."
"Down with dictatorship."
etc etc. All of it bullshit.

Metrosexual

2009-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

I've heard this word before but never knew what it meant. I dropped by this excellent page which everyone should read. It's an old site but I kinda had a thought for it and went back for the first time in a very long time. There, I found it again:

Metrosexual: A gay guy still in the closet. This word is so contemptible that even the man who coined it has since apologized for being such a douche. I cringe every time I hear this word.
(from that awesome website)

Bullshit: It's a new term that accurately describes people who have not made a decision as to what their sexuality is.
The Truth: It's a fucking conspiracy to make everyone think that people living in the city (therefore civilized) are naturally kinda gay and have to decide which way to go.

Also on that site was the word "Retrosexual" which is supposed to mean "straight." Hell I didn't even know this one existed but here in lies another conspiracy: makes straight people sound like something obsolete. Something to refer back to, for the fond memories (of plowing women) in contrast with the current generation which has a choice between which type of ass to tap.

If you're straight, you're a Nazi!!!
That guy is probably gay though.

The key behind "metrosexual" is the word metro. I know it's not what it really means but the way it sounds does the trick. "Metro." "Metropolis." "Either you're a small town red neck or you're a flaming faggot unsure of whether or not to come out of the closet or not."
We used to have a word for this. "Pervert."

MIcroshaft Fucks the Wii Wii

2009-06-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has done it again: ripped off a product invented by someone else.
You'd think with the sort of numbers that Microsoft employs, they'd have a little more creativity, but no, after they figured that ripping off Mac OS in every possible way wasn't good enough, they've gone after the Wii.

Bullshit: Microsoft is serious about intellectual property. When you pirate our stuff, you're stealing from our children! (Actually that's what Bungie wrote somewhere in the packaging for the game Marathon)
The Truth: Microsoft steals from the children of many creative folks anyway.

Nintendo Wii? More like Microshaft ass fuck

Seriously, can you look at that picture above and tell me that is NOT a Wii rip off?

Check this video out.

It's basically sound from a Windows Vista presentation but the video is from Mac OS X.
Wow, how are these Microsoft guys not in jail?
So what's more illegal? Getting something for free and not making a penny off of it or getting something for free and then packaging it as your own and then making billions off the stuff?

But that's not all. If the NXE (New XBox Experience) wasn't enough, they've come up with something else: Project Natal.

Even the opening sequence of that video is like some kind of Sims 2 rip off.
Some things on that look original (especially the no controller thing that I'm sure is bound to have many glitches and provide hours of frustration) but I've got to hold my judgement on that. It's possible that they were leaked by Microshaft employees working as spies in other companies.

Intellectual property laws: so only the rich with lots of lawyers can rip people's ideas off.

The threat to democracy in Korea

2009-05-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

The past Friday was quite unreal and I was out to see the crowd for myself. Took photos and videos. The video should be available very shortly.
Of the many themes behind the protests was that Lee Myung-bak (the current President) is a dictator and that he is a threat to democracy.

Bullshit: Lee Myung-bak is a threat to Korean democracy.
The truth: Mob rule is a threat to Korean democracy.

If I actually spoke my mind in front of City Hall, the crowd would actually either kill me, come pretty close to it or just make my life living hell by having a candle light vigil in front of my house wtih the occasional rock thrown to smash in my windows.
The logic is really screwed up.
President Lee Myung-bak, like him or not, was elected into office and won by a landslide because the people hated Noh Moo-hyun and his incompetence. He was elected and he became president. One of the things they said on loudspeaker was that he cheated his way into presidency. If anyone can provide a shred of evidence to support that, I will suck his dick. But it can't be proven, why? Because it's a complete lie, that's why.
It's the mob who terrorize the city that are a threat to democracy. They instill fear upon those who are willing to not vote for them. Just today, protestors went violent and attacked riot police with rocks and sharpened bamboo sticks. Against folks like those, unless you are willing to put your life on the line and kill those who attack you, you can't really stand up to them and expect to have a normal life.
Democracy in South Korea is under attack, but by those who claim to be those who promote it.

Fucktards that are fucking up my democracy

200 Views

2009-05-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

That's right. It's been less than two months since this rant-blog has launched and surprisingly, 200 people have stumbled across it.
Hooray.
It actually shows up on google search. If you look up "war on bullshit," it's on the first page. It used to be the third one down but I guess my slow post rate has something to do with the slide.

Thank you for supporting the war on bullshit!

Noh Moo-hyeon's Suicide

2009-05-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

The big news currently is that former president Noh Moo-hyun has committed suicide and that has prompted the spontaneous generation of mega bullshit.

Bullshit: Noh Moo-hyun's death is a great loss to a stronger, free Korea.
The Truth: That cocksucker's death finally puts an end to one of the most pro-North Korea, anti-American, pro-Chinese beacons in this country.

That's right. I said it. During his presidency, he spent his energies empowering North Korea, sending food, agricultural supplies etc., unconditionally and without any question to the very regime bent on destroying South Korea. At the same time, he distanced South Korea from one of its most important allies in the history of its existence: the United States. Never before had such a powerful country given so much and asked for so little and yet, he was able to ride along with those that painted the United States in the same brush as China and Imperial Japan. And by distancing himself from the United States and pretty much landing South Korea on everyone's shit list, the natural move towards vassalage under the Chinese took place.
Funny thing is, although people like to criticize America for what it's done, no one seems to care about what the Chinese have done and still do. In China, if you get waterboarded, you're a lucky guy.

Noh's idea of a better alternative to the USA

A move away from the United States is naturally a move towards the Chinese in the case of Korea. The country itself is not large or powerful enough to truly determine its own fate on its own. In fact, what we're learning is not even the United States can go it alone and expect a smooth journey.
So just how on earth does alienating the United States and favoring the North Koreans and the Chinese while claiming to promote freedom and democracy make any sense? It doesn't. Because it's bullshit.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not democratic

Even after he left office, Noh was talking smack about the current president and empowered the candle holding goons claiming to be the voice of the people even when the majority of South Koreans support Lee Myung-bak (the current president). So how is that supposed to be democracy? It isn't. It's just an leftist extremists doing his thing.

This is not democracy, it is terror and tyranny

Thank God he's dead and thank God it wasn't a natural death. I guess there is justice after all. Good riddance Noh Moo-hyun. Now you can go fuck yourself in hell with Che Guevara.

Guess what? They're already accusing the current presidency of having "assasinated" Noh Moo-hyun and wouldn't allow the opposition party to come and pay their respects. What a crock of shit.

Children and Freedom

2009-05-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

Before we begin, let's make a few things clear.
Children, by definition, do not really have responsibilities. This is why they have legal protection under a guardian and even in the event of committing crimes, they are tried with a different set of laws than adults.
Freedom is meaningless and dangerous without responsibility. If an organization feeds, clothes and houses you and decide what you will eat, wear and sleep in, you do not have any freedom but these three things will be guaranteed to you. To have freedom over these three matters means you are responsible for supplying yourself with the means to procure these.

Bleeding Heart Bullshit: Children should be given maximum freedom.
The Truth: Only if you want them to amount to nothing.

Let's face it, as kids the objective is to be as useful of a person as possible through the education system by the time you've reached 18 so that either you can land a decent job or go to college (and a good one if your scores are good enough).
But as kids, all we want to do is play. We have no sense of decency, courtesy, sacrifice... we are in essence very much like animals. But this is a subject for a bigger debate. In short, as children, we don't know what we need to know by 18 and it's certainly too far away for us to work for with the level of discipline and focus we have at such a young age.
As children we do not really have the means to achieve both this and make our own living at the same time. Therefore we cannot be responsible for our own well being and like stated above, without responsibility, you cannot have freedom.
Even as adults, most of us can't really pin down what freedom really is, but those of us who actually stop to think about the world we live in tend to have a general idea. So how are we supposed to give this sort of thing to children?

Our ways of giving freedom to children far too early is already showing signs of failure. In most countries not bullshitted to death by bleeding heart leftist propaganda, the kids are actually learning something.

This girl can kick your ass at math. Curfew? She may not even be allowed to decide who to get married to.

That's the ones that can actually afford to go to school and learn. But look at the problems facing our society.

If all else fails, there's always porn stardom.

Kids are getting "higher scores" because the standards are being dropped left and right. Children are under so much protection and have so much rights and freedoms that in some cases, they're telling the teachers what they want and what they'll do. Believe me, I did some teaching before and it's a disaster. I was able to square away my students and had them performing at levels unimaginable when I first got them but eventually a few quitters told their mothers, their mothers told the school and I got fired. The losers? The kids who wanted to learn.

You simply cannot give children freedom. They do not have the maturity (and experience) to handle the responsibilities required to have it. Having said that, neither do a lot of adults, but we do have to draw the line somewhere.
Parents have a responsibility for their childrens' future. That responsibility cannot fall on the child him or herself.

Gun Control = More Gun Crime

2009-05-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

Alright, the following is written under the assumption that you live in a country where there are too many guns to stop anyway and doesn't apply to societies you find in the likes of South Korea and Japan where guns in the hands of the publc are so rare that being armed yourself is extremely hard to justify.
We're talking about cases like the United States, UK and if we add a little extreme, South Africa.

Bullshit: Illegalizing guns will reduce gun crime.
Seriously: If you were an armed criminal, would you rather rob the 7/11 with the owner packing a 12 gauge shot gun or the 7/11 with the "gun free zone" sticker on the glass door?

I mean, I've seen the statistics and you too probably have seen many statistics surrounding this matter. The "horrors" of gun crime and the number of youths that get shot each year (never mind they are members of a gang who were shooting it out in a gang war). But logically speaking... how on earth will making guns illegal in a country already with guns going to work?
You know the criminals won't obey the law and will get the guns no matter how they get it. It's us law abiding citizens like you (hopefully) and me who won't get guns if posession of it is illegal. So what's going to happen? Easy picking for the criminal really.

Multiple Choice: As an armed criminal, who would you rather attempt to mug?
A)

Does this guy even need a bodyguard?

B)

Yes, that's a real AR-15. It's suppressed so she can kill you quietly without scaring her cat and has a reflex sight so she can shoot you faster.

C)

She's got one hand in her pocket and the other one's waiting to get chopped off for the trinklet.

Let's forget about just how "decent" and "nice" we are for a moment and let's say we're criminals and we want to rob houses, convenience stores and if we're a little more enterprising, ATM machines by throwing a chain around it and attaching it to the cargo haul hook on the back of our SUV and flooring the gas. Would we suddenly feel that we should go about doing these things without being armed? I highly doubt it. I could go in with a knife, but what if there's a guy in there who's an ex-Israeli Special Forces guy who's since retired and has been making a living as a Krav Maga instructor for the past ten years? My ass is toast. With a gun (and knowledge on how to use the damned thing, which I do have [Note to PMCs: please hire me]) even he would know better than to attempt to jump me.

South Africa's crime rate has gone up like it's no body's business since guns got "outlawed" and in Britain, current rulings in court make it look like you're not allowed to defend yourself, even with your bare hands. It's like the instant a criminal breaks in, you have to dial 999 and hope that the nearest armed police officer will teleport into your home. Not going to happen. Maybe in a million years but not anytime soon.
Switzerland, however, has the entire country armed and their gun crime rate is low as anybody else's. Who'd want to rob a Swiss Victorinox store in Switzerland? The owner has a gun and knows how to use it and so do the customers.

In a way, having a gun is like having a personal nuke. Remember what happened in World War II? America had nukes. Japan didn't. As a result, Japan got pwned big time. Cold War, America had nukes, so did the USSR, so basically it turned into a 45 year staring competition where the Soviets blinked first.

The point is, it's not rocket science. It's plainly obvious. If you live in a country where there is access to firearms for criminals, then guns need to be legal and quite frankly, I'd feel safer protecting my house with a UMP-45 than a Berretta 92.

UMP-45: .45 caliber, select fire whoop ass.

Berretta 92: Never trust a pistol. Especially a 9mm Pistol.

So next time some anti-gun hippie tries to argue their case to you, mug them.

Marrying a Korean woman

2009-05-09T04:42:00.001-07:00

Although there are exceptions, marrying a Korean woman can be one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make.
This usually refers to Korean women with very little actual exposure to western culture... i.e. the Korean women who are very Korean in terms of culture and upbringing. So in a way, it's not about race as it is about Korean culture.
This doesn't mean Korean-American women (aka Gyopos) are safe. Actually those are a completely different bag of worms which I won't cover in this posting.

The sales pitch: Korean women are kind, warm, submissive and loving.
The truth: Korean women will be kind, warm, submissive and loving until they tie the knot. Then they become cold, dominant (especially with money) and will take orders directly from their mothers when it comes to family policy.

Women are hard to understand, but Korean women are even harder. However, it's not impossible and this one post will bring to light many things that a foreigner usually has little or no way of figuring out.
Check this out for starters. A Korean woman in her 20's is usually overly kind to white men but will be openly hostile and inconsiderate against Korean males (even if the Korean dudes are kind) and will go head over heels for white men but will still go on that anti-American demonstration rally the coming weekend and go all nationalistic for a night or two before grovelling and courting white dudes at their feet the very next day.
Make sense?

Weekend America hater

So why do things work this way?
It's because they see white men as the masters of the world and feel the need to associate with those people to "raise" themselves on the social ladder. There is probably some element of truth to this but here in lies the danger. They don't marry a white man because he is a great guy or anything, but simply because he is white (and not a total train wreck. Face it, Korean women aren't going to marry a white guy if he's got no money).

The whole act of being submissive, kind, shy etc. is pretty much a ploy as it always has been to grab the man they wish to marry. Don't fall for this bullshit. Think of this as the free download demo version. When you marry (make the purchase), the real product installs and the whole picture changes.

Before

How does it look after marriage?
- She takes control of the money.
- You realize that you can't hold a single interesting conversation with her.
- She actually doesn't like sex.
- She doesn't love you for who you are, but will make sure that you become what she expects you to be. Pressure, pressure, pressure. You are now her cow and she wants to see that milk flow.
- She takes orders from her mother. There is no escape.
- It will be like she just aged another 15 years after the honeymoon.

After

Surefire signs that you've got the wrong person.
- She plays musical instruments quite avidly.
- She puts on a lot of makeup.
- She is anorexic.
- She's an artist (RED ALERT).
All of these she will use to lure the unsuspecting foreign dude. It's a trap!

If she makes one of these for you, kick her out. IMMEDIATELY.

Signs of hope.
- She plays sports.
- Has travelled a lot (without Ramen supplies) and is worldly.
- Can hold a good conversation.
- Isn't too close to her mother.
- Doesn't give to squirts a piss about nationalism.
- She makes just as much, if not more money than you.

This is the actual number of Korean women on earth that can hold an interesting conversation.

The rumors and misconceptions regarding how great Korean women are is complete and dangerous bullshit. Don't fall for the cute shit. Swear to God... it's going to fuck up your life.

The Demo: Sweet, submissive, caring.
Release version: Dominant, cold and basically a Trojan Horse with her mother calling the shots (and stealing your money).

Optimism

2009-05-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

The debate with Rob Henderson on milforum continues and basically it's moved on to optimism vs pessimism. Refer back to this post to see where the discussion had actually come from.

Basically after trying to advocate that the richest people must be taxed even more than they are being taxed now and being convinced by a few others that complete and absolute global equity is impossible he had to throw one of these:

Posted by Rob Henderson

I know it won't happen... But call me crazy, I keep hoping for the best. This takes me back to the VERY FIRST PAGE of this thread... Fundamentally different outlooks on life. Optimism vs. Pessimism. I'm an optimist, I will hope for the best. Pessimists will try and use harsh reality checks to bring optimists down, but it ain't happenin' here.

So I had to reply with this:

You have no idea how dangerous blind optimism is. Basically that's what your optimism is. No, you're not crazy, you're just blind and a few other things. "Crazy" is often used as an excuse by people who know they're wrong but need a reason to be wrong and yet feel alright about themselves. After all, you can't really accuse a guy who is really "crazy" or "messed up" of anything.
Blind optimism got soldiers tied down in a confusing and unending conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Blind optimism is responsible for the financial melt down.
Blind optimism sent millions of troops "over the top" to get slaughtered by artillery and machine guns in World War I.
Blind optimism is the cause of countless structural failures of bridges, buildings etc.
Do you even know what real optimism is? It's the acknowledgement that things can get far worse. It's the realization that currently things aren't at a state where the only place to go is up. The understanding that our current situation is not as bad on the "good-bad" meter scale as we'd like to think.
Sure, overboard pessimsim leads to nowhere either, but in the real world usually pessimism ensures that security systems are redundant, elevators are designed to withstand three or four times the weight capacity as actually stated, etc.
Optimism is intellectual laziness at work.

Remember when the Germans voted in Hitler? For a while, they became optimists. They felt that their situation probably couldn't get any worse so they threw their chips in with Hitler and believed that he could bring them to glory unseen before.
Same goes with people in Communist countries. They often supported the Communists because for a while, the people became optimists and believed that there was very little room to go down and that these Communists could bring about miracles.

The pessimist will prepare for situations, first the ones likely to happen, then the ones not so likely but still possible. He'll also know that regardless of the countermeasures, bad things can still happen, so he'll be ready to tackle actual emergency situations as well. The optimist will close the book and go home, just to see his responsibility on the 9 O'clock news.

Pessimists who use pessimism to keep their drive to move forward in check (but not so much as to stifle any movement at all) are known as realists. Optimists hate realists because it means they have to do more work.

Optimism in action.

Send them over the top. I'm sure that German machine gun's bound to jam sometime...

What do you mean "how much is it really worth?" No one will know!

No way, this is going to be a short and easy war. We don't need to send more troops.

In fact, I'll just go ahead and disband the Iraqi Army as well.

Oh it'll be fine!

Getting the idea yet?
Optimism the state of mind that fosters bullshit.

Swine Flu

2009-04-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Reuters has called it a Pandemic*.
Many news sources had also initially rushed into panic.

What they say: Swine flu is an extremely dangerous virus which is resistant to anti-viral medication.

The truth: It's easily treated if you go see a doctor the instant you feel you have a flu.

It's just another case of the press jumping on a story and then using fear to get people to read their stuff. I guess I'm a sucker too because initially I was fooled. I happen to have a friend in Mexico so I decided to shoot him an email trying to see if his family was alright. Turns out it's not a big deal and the press are just having a field day. According to him, it's 100% curable if you see a doctor and so far all evidence indicates that that is true.
Just today (Wednesday, April 29th, 2009) CNN.com released articles about why the only fatalities were in Mexico and that regular flu kills far more (with a capital F) annually than this particular disease. Perhaps they're baffled and disappointed that the Swine Flu did not prove to be major news after all.
Swine Flu is resistant to many anti-viral medication but all indications are that it is still weak to Tamiflu and Relenza. Yes, even in the world of major air travel, it can be contained and cured.

Swine flu is still more dangerous than this other bullshit that swept South Korea some time ago: Mad Cow Disease. Yeah, it happens, it's not easy to cure but the risks are so miniscule that if you're scared of Mad Cow Disease, you might as well live inside a styrofoam box (with NBC filtered ventilation).

Big Bullshit

Small Bullshit

How to avoid the vast majority of flu related viruses:
1) Wash often and wash well.
2) Use a hand sanitizer.
3) Don't be a filthy, lazy fuck. Take care of yourself, you're a fucking adult for fucks sakes!!

So there you have it. Swine Flu. All it did for my friend in Mexico was make the traffic lighter. More road for him!

* According to the free online dictionary (and many others), Pandemic means:

1. Widespread; general.

2. Medicine Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population.
So you might think "well what's the big deal?" The reason why the Press loves to use this word is because the front three letters "PAN" go well with "panic" and that's why the word has an additional effect that the journalists so desire. They will tell you that's not the case, but believe me, that is the art of manipulation.

Water should be free - it is dipshit

2009-04-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

This is related to the whole topic about money that I'll be getting at in the coming posts. I knew some communist cocksucker dude back in college who said, "why do we have to pay for water? Water should be free," while holding up a bottle of water.

Bullshit?: Water should be free.

The Truth: It is dumbass. It's the bottle, the treatment and the transportation that costs money.

Free

When that dicksucker held up the bottle of water, he failed to realize several factors:
1) He's not only holding up water, but plastic as well. And that plastic didn't fall out of the sky. Water does, that's why it's free.
2) That water didn't fall into his hand either. It was hauled over from a far away place. That one small bottle may not seem like a big deal, but considering that the company that bottled the water brought along about a million of his buddies, that's a lot.
3) That water didn't show up cleared of germs and muddy crap. Someone cleaned it up.

Not Free

Want water for free? You can collect rain water, treat/boil it, filter it yourself and then have a drink. No one will ask for a dime. Except of course you'll have to pay for your bucket, the chlorine (if you choose to use it), the gas if you're going to boil it (unless you go to the woods, get some dead wood since cutting can be illegal and light it like a cave man since matches cost money) and perhaps also the coffee filter/sieve to filter the water one last time.

Not Free.

Not Free.

Not Free.

Not Free.

Imagine you're the truck driver who had to drive a few hundred miles with that stuff and at the end of the month you're surprised to see that no one's paid you for your work.
Truck Driver: "What the hell man!?!?!"
Employer: "Tough shit. It's water. It's free!"
No, that shit's not going to fly is it?
So the driver won't transport water, the plastic bottle company will refuse to send their stuff to the water bottling facilities and basically what you'll end up with is long lines forming in front of public water fountains. Actually, not even that since tap water supply will also stop.
Stupid fuck commies.
Water is free but only if you get it yourself.

S. Korean Court Convicts two Pro-North Korea douche bags

2009-04-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

Check this article out. It's an Associated Press article from April 22nd.

SKoreans convicted for pro-NKorea activities

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court sentenced two activists on Tuesday to at least two years in prison for engaging in pro-North Korea activities, an official said.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted the men for violating the National Security Law by establishing a civic group sympathetic to North Korea and holding forums praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, court spokesman Kwon Tae-hyung said.

One man received a sentence of 24 months, the other 30 months, Kwon said.

He said two other activists received suspended prison terms because their pro-North Korea activities were not deemed as serious. Kwon said the convicted have one week to appeal.

The activists’ group — Solidarity for Practice of the South-North Joint Declaration — said in a statement that it only aims to promote peace between the divided Koreas. It also accused the court of using the “old-fashioned” security law to return South Korean society to the Cold War era.

The broadly worded security law was not vigorously enforced when inter-Korean relations flourished under back-to-back liberal governments that launched a set of reconciliation projects with North Korea during their administrations that ran from 1998-2003 .

Ties between the Koreas, however, have soured since pro-U.S. President Lee Myung-bak took office last year in Seoul with a tougher policy on the North.

The Seoul court, the Justice Ministry and the prosecution said Tuesday that they could not immediately confirm whether the number of those convicted under the security law has increased since Lee’s inauguration.

The two Koreas are still technically at war because their three-year conflict that ended in 1953 concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!
But they left out a crucial piece of information in the article which was that both people had contacted North Korean officials without authorization. That is definitely a crime in South Korea. The article has a bit of a "spin" to it to make it look like some blatant act against the freedom of speech.
I have long suspected that these guys took their orders from North Korea and guess what? It turns out to be true.
That pro-North Korea stuff, is BULLSHIT and I'm glad the government isn't putting up with it anymore.
If anyone asks if arrests concerning North Korea have gone up, yes they only can have since the previous administrations made close to ZERO arrests regarding the matter.
The bullshit ends here mother fuckers.
Your asses are going to jail.

Gurkhas Betrayed by Britain

2009-04-25T07:16:00.001-07:00

Gurkha who have served for the British Army are famous the world over for being one of the toughest fighting men to have walked the earth and for years they have been fighting an uphill battle for their right to live in the UK and become UK citizens.

Check out the article from The Scotsman. But really, it's ALL over the British press.

Basically in short a new law was passed that would allow another 4,000 odd Gurkhas to settle but the criteria are so picky and complicated that hardly anyone would really qualify for them. In other words, it's a clever little catch 22 that politicians love to throw around. Basically Gurkhas will be required to have 20 years of service but a rifleman (which is the role the Gurkhas fill) can only serve for 15 years. Sounds like the type of bullshit politicians love to push around (HAH! Gotcha! sort of shit).
Never mind the sort of support and aid that goes into asylum seekers that haven't done a thing for the UK except be a burdern and a problem (and in some cases may have fought against British soldiers in Afghanistan).

Gurkhas have served the crown in the past

such as Victoria Cross recipient Tulbahadur Pun

And continue to serve today

like this Gurkha in Afghanistan.

You'd trust politicians to screw over some of the best people on earth so royally.

But you know what?
If they were White this would have never happened. They would have full rights after about four years service and have a very short road to citizenship.
The fact that there are disloyal asylum seeking assholes who are getting board, food and allowances off tax money while these people who have served the crown since 1817 get the shaft disgusts me to no end.
It makes you question everything you learned about decency, that by doing good, by being courageous... you will be rewarded. Obviously not the case.

Look at this article from 2007 about how Asylum seekers, mostly Muslims (who generally don't think very highly of the West and its principles) were invited to a Christmas party in Calais where they were fed but not sung Christmas carols incase they were offended (yeah, the logic behind this escapes me, Christmas party is okay, Christmas carol, not ok. Ok....).

Wow... Just wow...

Loyalty and honor have just been reduced to bullshit.

People can't make the world better

2009-04-25T02:07:00.001-07:00

Actually this theme came across in a thread on www.milforum.com.
It's regarding a lot of topics but one of it became about the decency of the human being.

Rob Henderson wanted things to go back to how they were before "9/11." I'm assuming how America was like before 9/11 because the world I knew before 9/11 was still a piece of shit.

Posted by Me

The kinder gentler "world" before 9/11 never existed. It was simply an illusion.
The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as Canada usually shield America from the realities of the real world. But on 9/11 it kind of hit home and many couldn't deal with it.
Deal with it. This is life, this is the world.

Posted by Rob Henderson

I'm not going to be a pessimist just because some nut jobs decided to attack America because they're jealous of us... Is it somehow wrong to want a more peaceful world?

Posted by Me

It's like wishing that all the hot women in the world would take turns getting into bed with you.
It's not going to happen and quite frankly even thinking about it is a total waste of time.

Posted by Rob Henderson

Hardly... Men CAN make this place better for everyone. Just because you don't think it will, doesn't mean it won't.

This is my response:

Wake up seriously.
You have Gurkhas who served so well for the British for hundreds of years... if you count the British East India Company, since 1817. Yet they're not given the rights to enter and stay in the UK compared with some guy from Pakistan who clearly hates the UK and is under suspicion that he may have fought against British troops in Afghanistan.
All these financial institutions... all that greed. The government finally gives them money to un-f*ck the mess they created and they're using GOVERNMENT money (tax payer money) to pay off their layoffs and even finance their own vacations.
You have legal immigration restricted because illegal immigration is a problem and not enough is being done to restrict illegal immigration. Just happens to be that targeting people who might actually be of benefit to America is a lot easier.
An actress in South Korea committed suicide [Insert: Jang Ja-yun, for those who want to read up on the case] because she was used as a prostitute by her manager (and of course the chain of responsibility goes higher but largely it's been well covered up). The police are then sent on a raid against prostitution. Yes, the entertainment industry can force the police to pretend to take action without actually taking action against those really responsible. It's not the first case that something like this happened. It's happened MANY times now.
People smuggle drugs across borders by stuffing drugs into freshly dead babies.
Genocide.
....
the list is endless.
People don't change. At least, not very much. We always try to kid ourselves into thinking that we're different from our ancestors. We are in a way, but if you look at it overall, we're very much the same.
Ask a guy who's got his limbs blown off in a war and got abandoned by the military, the government and his own family if he believes in the decency of mankind.
Or the girl who got tricked into going into a prostitution ring by a woman at her church who told her that she was going to help her find work overseas.
Or the guy or woman with a family to feed who's been waiting in line for days at an aid distribution center who can't get aid because gangs/militia are hogging the front of the line and taking everything.

Wake the f*ck up Henderson.
People can't make the world a better place.
Not even Jesus managed to do that.
It's not because we're stupid. It's because we're greedy, selfish, jealous, prideful... it's because we are evil, because we are weak.

So wake the f*ck up Henderson and people who think we can make the world a better place.

Possibly the kindest person to walk the earth in recent times. Feel good factor whenever her name is mentioned: 10/10. Her actual effect on making the world a better place: close to 0.

Jesus Christ who died for our sins still couldn't make people good. Or make the world a good place for that matter. (On that note, do you know how HARD it is to find a picture of Jesus that doesn't look like Jesus of Narvik, Norway?)

People can make the world a better place = BULLSHIT of the highest caliber.

North Korea - a serious threat to America?

2009-04-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

This is something that's been going back and forth, back and forth over the past few years but in recent months has been going forth more than before.
I've been hearing some opinions about this sort of thing and there's a lot of bullshit surrounding it.

Common scare talk: North Korea's going to have the ability to launch a nuclear missile at the United States soon. We need to go to war NOW! ("We" often said by a person who is not a member of any Armed Forces).
The Truth: The actual capability is still a long way off.

The common talk among groups that want to scare the shit out of the public is that North Korea will soon have the ability to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon.
This is actually far from the truth. Currently, North Korea's missile capability can potentially hit the Aleutian Islands and Guam but as far as that goes, it can probably be achieved with an empty or near empty-payload. Seriously nothing like a 1,000 lb conventional warhead. For comparison, during the Gulf War, Iraq's Scuds were armed iwth 2,000 lb conventional warheads and proved to have pretty woeful accuracy for the most part. Iraq launched about 40 Scud missiles against Israel and 46 against Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War which led to only one Israeli and one Saudi death. One that managed to hit a US Air Force Barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killed twenty eight airmen but judging from the evidence, it was most likely to be a fluke.

Differences between Scuds and North Korea's ballistic missile:
1) Scuds can be fired from mobile launchers. North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are far too big for that.
2) The flight path and range of a Scud, especially those fired from Iraq to Israel, is far simpler and shorter than the flight path and range a ballistic missile from North Korea would have to negotiate in order to hit a target inside US territory. Range from somewhere in the middle of Al Anbar Province to Tel Aviv is about 600 kilometers compared to about 5,000 kilometers a missle would have to travel to hit the Aleutians.

A mobile Scud launcher (courtesy: Jewish Post)

And there are some similarities:
1) The guidance system of both the Scud and the North Korean ballistic missile are non existent. Unlike the high tech weapons we have (GPS guided weapons for example) these missiles are aimed and fired like artillery pieces with a gyroscope for stabilization in flight. Their accuracy is rather woeful, especially as the range increases.
2) The heavier the payload, the shorter the range.

Let's try to break this down into why this missle's threat level has been overblown:
Issues with accuracy:
So like I said, Iraq's Scuds which have a similar guidance system to that of North Korea's ICBM and its lethality against targets merely 600 kilometers away with a heavy warhead was quite woeful. Now think about what North Korea's missile could do after travelling a whopping 5,000 kilometers with a smaller warhead? I think we're worrying about something very small. Consider that Seattle is 8,000 kilometers away from North Korea.

Issues with detection:
Like stated before, Scuds were hard to hunt because they were on mobile launchers, could quickly aim and fire within a matter of minutes. The ICBM North Korea has is a completely different animal. The fueling takes about a week, the multi stage rockets are conspicuous as hell during transport... remember for their launch tests? It means the missile has to be sitting on its launch pad for about a week before it can actually be fired to its maximum range. The world knew the North Koreans were going to have a missile ready and the whole world was able to watch. It's not something they can use for a secret sucker punch. If the North Koreans choose to use this, there is simply no element of surprise involved.

What I am concerned about:
North Korea has chemical weapons. If they are able to get this thing to land anywhere in a city, it can cause casualties but it all depends on what they use, how much of it they can put on, how they disperse it, wind speed and direction etc etc.

What this is really about is North Korea is fuming about its inability to get its way after eight years of getting just about whatever it was they wanted from the two previous South Korean presidential administrations. The current government under Lee Myung-bak is not so kind to the North Koreans and it's just a tactic to unsettle his government.
Ultimately it's about this:

Publicity

North Korea's ICBM threat is being overblown by the Press to sell stories and it's scaring the crap out of idiots who scream "FIRST STRIKE! FIRST STRIKE!"
The danger that North Korea poses to South Korea's capital, Seoul is a real one. About 23 million people live in the Seoul metropolitan area, most within the range of North Korea's chemical capable artillery pieces and Scuds (which will have a far closer and larger target than Iraq did in '91).
So what kind of threat are we talking about? According to a 2003 Stars and Stripes article, Stephen Ortwig, a USFK spokesman at the time said, "within the first hours of an attack, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 artillery rounds could rain down on Seoul."
Considering how densely populated Seoul is, we're looking at over 100,000 civilian deaths in the opening 24 hours alone. To justify something like that, it's going to take a far solid reason than "I'm not comfortable, and I'm scared of a North Korea that can fire a missile armed with a warhead perhaps less potent than a crazy guy with a pistol at a college campus."

I am tired of this overblown bullshit regarding North Korea's missile and I'm pissed off at the press for being complete asses about the whole thing and giving North Korea what it really wants out of this entire affair: PUBLICITY.
The last thing I want is a bunch of fucking leftist journo assholes feeding neo-cons with bullshit that's going to get their pussy asses into another wrong course of action. You can count on the neo-cons to fuck up because they are:
a) too lazy to understand the real situation
b) too fucking scared to be of sound judgement
c) think sending people into harms way is patriotic when they themselves RARELY ever sign up for anything.
Hopefully the words of the neo-cons are falling on deaf ears with the current US administration.

Freddie CFO Kellermann Found Dead

2009-04-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Apparently the acting Chief Financial Officer of Freddie Mac committed suicide.
I'm sure a lot of people are discussing this one to death.

Possible response of retards: Rest in peace. That poor man must have been under a lot of pressure.
The Truth: Fuck him! And guys like him whose greed and ignorance helped fuck up the world economy.

I don't think there's much to say on the matter of these fucktards committing suicide, but there is one music video that fits perfectly.

Minerva Aquitted - not a victory for freedom of speech

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you who aren't familiar, Minerva is the screen name of a 30-something year old guy who spread false rumors on the internet which caused damages that cost the South Korean government billions of dollars. The case was taken to court and he was aquitted on grounds that he did not violate any kind of telecommunication law.

However, one must consider that:
"In a Dec. 29 posting, he wrote that officials had ordered financial institutions to stop buying dollars as the government tried to curb the fall of the won, South Korea's currency, against the greenback.
The posting devastated the local foreign exchange market, forcing the nation's financial authority to spend $2 billion to bolster the won as the demand for dollars surged wildly."
(Source: The LA Times South Korea: Blogger 'Minerva' found not guilty. April 21st 2009)

People followed his words because he had actually managed to "predict" a few things correctly the previous year and was had a cult like following on the internet.

Common Opinion: If Minerva is convicted, it's a huge blow to freedom of speech.
The Truth: If you scream "FIRE!" when there isn't any and people die in the resulting stampede, "freedom of speech" is a piss poor defense argument.

The asshole who fucked up my money, and the bitch who gave birth to him

Freedom of speech is all well and good but if the stuff you say screws up everyone's lives and jeapordizes the government's efforts in saving the economy, your ass belongs in jail. What if a terrorist started putting recruiting posters, tapes and instructions on how to attack key targets within the US, Canada, Europe etc.? I HARDLY think that "freedom of speech" would be a very good defense. But no, since this happened in far away South Korea, the West decided (along with the leftist cocksuckers in South Korea itself) that this was an attack on the freedom of speech.
This is the trouble with these "soft" attacks. No one seems to think that making the money in your hand half in value is any form of malicious attack. I got news for you, it is. When I got some money, I need its full fucking value, and if some cock sucker reduces the value which stunts my purchasing power, that fucker should hang by his balls. Or hang by her nipples if it's not a guy.
Kind of like how if you actually break into someone's house and steal a lamp, the law hits your ass harder than if you hacked into someone else's computer and stole all their vital information and sold it on the black market. Make sense? Of course it doesn't. Because it's bullshit!
Using your celebrity status to spread false rumors and direct people into committing to an action that harms the country in a pretty obvious way (like fucking up the economy) should NOT be protected under "freedom of speech." If that is what the argument is, I very well might publish instructions on the best ways to take out sentries at South Korean military installations, how the schedules are usually run, how the guys actually stand guard, what their procedure is, how fast their reaction time is, how many men will respond if the alarm is tripped etc. Might as well release all of that and use "freedom of speech" to cover my ass. "The public has the right to know." You've heard it all before no doubt.
No speech is free. You pay for every word you say. If no one was harmed, then fine. If you fuck up the economy, you're going to get a cock meat sandwich. At least that's the way it should be.

"So young" - bullshit regarding age

2009-04-21T22:06:00.001-07:00

The latest news on the pirate who was captured after his buddies got wasted by Navy SEALS: He's undergoing trial in New York and the question is how "young" this guy is.

As stated in an Associated Press Article: "The decision by the federal government to bring Muse to justice here has thrust the skinny teenager into the international spotlight, and raised legal questions about whether the U.S. is going too far in trying to make an example of someone so young." (Pirate comes to NY, world away from home in Africa, - AP Tues April 21st 2009)

Common quote: "He's just a 17 year old boy."
The Truth: "17 year olds can fucking kick your ass."

Apparently the guy is around 18 but they can't be sure if he's exactly 18 or slightly under 18, whereas others will try to push for some bullshit about how he's 15. It's impossible to go for the records because such things don't exist in Somalia and from what I know of my experiences in 3rd world hell holes, you could have them easily fabricated. But the real question is, is 16 or 17 even that young?

Poor kid surrounded by real pirates?

Seriously though. This guy is only small because he is so malnourished. For all practical purposes, 16 and 17 year olds look just like adults. I don't know where this "he's just a boy" thing came from. Ever had to deal with a pissed off 17 year old twice your size? Not such a small "boy" anymore is he? Add an AK-47. Get the fucking picture?
16 and 17 year olds are NOT "kids." Look at the picture of the pirate. The guy looks older than I am though I've been around about a decade longer than he has. It's not uncommon either. Happens every day. But when the Press or the bleeding hearts get a hold of some 17 year old "boy" who's caused a lot of grief, they try to paint the picture like it's some 5 year old who spilled milk on the carpet. No. Hell no. It's bullshit and just because they're not old enough to fuck legally doesn't mean they shouldn't be sent behind bars for seriously long periods of time for screwing up badly. And when I mean screwing up badly, I mean hijacking a vessel for ransom money kind of screwing up.
If the whole thing about being a "boy" comes from immaturity and lack of judgement, well hell, I don't see why that should be limited by how many years you've had in this world. So I guess if you're a fucking retard and you just smashed every car in a ten block radius, you should get a more "lenient" sentence.
Bullshit. Ass whipping smartens people up.

ROEs about Piracy

2009-04-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Rules of Engagement - basically a set of rules that prevent people like myself from levelling everything, feeling good about themselves and celebrating a hard day's work with cold beer and warm pussy.
Anyways. The hot topic these days is about piracy off the coast of Somalia (and beyond!) and how the world's major powers are powerless to really do anything about it.

A line I've been hearing lately: To solve the piracy problem coming from Somalia, poverty in Somalia must be eradicated.

The truth: Piracy will stop when it stops being profitable. i.e. once a dude goes out to sea with an AK-47, sharks start getting a hard on.

Seriously. When you have the most advanced warships in the world unable to tackle a bunch of dudes with AK-47s travelling on crappy "speed" boats, you have to ask yourself some serious questions. This is the same sort of problem that was tackled pretty successfully in the past and that was when the technological gap between pirates and the authorities were not as big as they are now.

AEGIS Cruisers have nothing on these guys

You see, what's changed fundamentally between the world back then and now is that back in the old days, if there was no law regarding fighting pirates, it meant everything was OK. Now when there aren't any laws about them, it means you can't lift a finger. Yeah, your local law now is in effect in those cases but laws that apply back home don't neccessarily apply half way around the world. Shit, the rules even change from one side of the city to the other.
Like an event that happened a few days ago:
The Dutch had to let seven pirates go because... "They can only arrest them if the pirates are from the Netherlands, the victims are from the Netherlands, or if they are in Netherlands waters."
(Source: Sky News)

Yeah a few hostages were saved, but the trade is still lucrative enough for pirates to still take to the seas.
So how do you solve it? Stop making it profitable.
Create an exclusion zone where any small vessel discovered will be blown out of the water.
Imagine you are a pirate or a guy thinking about going into piracy and your buddies are coming back rich and even those who fail come back in one piece. Why on earth WOULDN'T you want to take part in piracy? But if not a soul who went out to sea to hijack a large vessel made it home alive, that's something to think about isn't it?

But wouldn't eradicating poverty also work?
Some places are hell holes and are meant to be hell holes. If they want to get out of poverty, they'll have to do it themselves. Certain things about people don't change and one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make is to think that other people think like you do. Sending aid to these countries is a complete waste of time and the fact that aid does arrive there means that those in power will have no motivation to end the poverty. In fact, it will be in their best interest to keep the people poor and starving, so that some NGO can show up, snap another photograph of a starving child which will inevitably fuck our consciousness into donating aid money which will be ripped off just enough to pay for some corrupt dude's new Mercedes and his son's gold AK-47 and have just enough aid go through to keep the regular folks starving, but not starving to death.
PHEW. That's a run on sentence isn't it?

Hell I think I tackled more than one subject:
- Violence doesn't solve anything: BULLSHIT!
- Eradicating poverty will work: BULLSHIT!
- Motivating people through fear doesn't work: BULLSHIT!

All the high tech weaponry we have is only as good as the will to use them.
Make the ROEs work and let fly some steel rain.

Tae Kwon Do

2009-04-05T08:33:00.001-07:00

Tae Kwon Do is very popular in the United States and throughout the world. The demonstration teams put on some of the most spectacular displays of Martial Arts anywhere. So I think it's time a few things about Tae Kwon Do required some explaining. Please note that we're referring to the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) Tae Kwon Do, not International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) Tae Kwon Do (aka Street Tae Kwon Do or North Korean Tae Kwon Do).

The official line: Tae Kwon Do is an excellent martial art for use in self defense.

The reality: It's possibly one of the most inefficient ways to take down a human being.

Anyone who knows the first thing about fighting know that almost all the moves pulled off in a Tae Kwon Do demonstration is practically useless in a real fight. The large, graceful moves may be awe inspiring but if you tried them in a real brawl, you'll be eating dirt real fast.

Not going to work, not in a million years.

The fundamentals of fighting usually include a lot of punching, kicking below the belt, using knees and elbows close in and attacking your opponent on the ground. Grappling is also very important. Oh yeah, and keep it simple.
Tae Kwon Do goes against ALL of these rules. Its punches are basic at best and for some reason aim mostly to hit the opponent's chest. Kicking below the belt is illegal, elbows and knees are illegal and there is ZERO grappling. So just how is this supposed to be a truly effective fighting system? It's not.
Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Ju Jitsu and even Judo are for the most part superior and so is boxing. Actually throw in wrestling as well. All of these cater to at least a few of the fundamentals of fighting (Krav Maga fulfills all including grappling though not as much as Ju Jitsu and Judo from what I've learned so far).
Five months in, a Krav Maga student will be reasonably proficient in several methods of self defense, whereas from my experience, Tae Kwon Do students at five months can't defend themselves from a deflated paper bag. After years of martial arts training, I still wouldn't be caught dead in a close fight with a good grappler.
So how did Tae Kwon Do go down this path? Simple, it became a sport, and not a blood sport, but a bloodless Olympic sport where all but the most inefficient ways of taking down a human being were deemed illegal. Serious martial artists no longer consider Tae Kwon Do a real martial art anymore.

That's not to say people who have learned Tae Kwon Do cannot fight. Because it is SO inefficient, Tae Kwon Do masters who have spent many years learning the martial art reach a level of conditioning that is quite outstanding. Their speed and strength alone are enough to carry the fight for them. However, the process and the time it takes to get there is simply outrageous and in a fight against someone who has mastered a more serious martial art, they are in deep trouble.

In a nutshell:
Tae Kwon Do...
- forces you to learn "Poomsae" which is basically running a pattern with your techniques. Completely useless in a fight but yet you'll spend a LOT of time memorizing them. Yeah it doesn't matter if you can take out the entire Dojang (training center), if you can't remember that the next move is lower block in a long stance, you're not advancing to the next level.
- kicks are too high. One mistake and you're fight's over in an instant.
- doesn't have enough punches/hand techniques.
- mostly punches the opponents chest. WTF is up with that?
- has no real world tactics whatsoever.
- has no idea what grappling is.

What do serious martial arts have in common? Their demonstration teams aren't as awe inspiring as Tae Kwon Do. They don't look as sexy. But they work.

Or you can just kick him in the shin, which would hurt more.

So if you are thinking about taking up Tae Kwon Do, ask yourself what it is you want. If you want to be a part of demonstrations etc., Tae Kwon Do just might fit you, but if you're joining because the poster tells you it's great for self defense (as that is the most common reason for joining), learn something else.

Oriental Medicine (Han-yak)

2009-04-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

Korea's pretty big about oriental medicine. There are large hospitals which are largely dedicated to the practice and getting a license to be an oriental pharmacist takes a lot of effort and time.

Here's the official line: Oriental medicine is an effective way of countering illnesses. It doesn't work instantly like Western medicine, but it works for the long term and fixes the problem rather than just attack the symptom itself.

The truth: It doesn't work.

Let me tell you about my experiences with oriental medicine. I used to have a lot of issues with my stomach. For some reason it would act up quite often and it was being a serious problem. I was advised to go get some treatment through oriental medicine. So I went to the store, got that stuff... tried it for a long time and it didn't do a damned thing. All it did was taste bad. I went to regular hospitals and they didn't know either until one doctor recommended that I get an IV stuck in my arm for two days while fasting. Guess what? That fixed the problem.
Something as trivial as not eating or drinking for two days was the answer. The oriental medicine, didn't do a damned thing. Truth is, it never does anything beyond the effects of a placebo.

Scandalous, rip off, and an overall shitload of fuck.

So when a Korean guide or friend or perhaps a converted haiku writing penis pumper from California tries to tell you about the wonders of Oriental herbal medicine, ignore them. Punch them in the mouth if you can get away from it, but I can't recommend it here or else someone's actually going to do it, go to jail and then quote me, which will get me in trouble with the authorities. The authorities hate me enough already.

Let's look at some of the most common bullshit regarding Oriental medicine:
- It prevents cancer: The next asshole to try to sell me one saying this will get sued. No. I'll just buy a bunch of his stash, smoke a hundred packs of cigarettes, get cancer and get a lawyer. I'll sue the bastard down to his underwear.
- It is not instant, it works for the long term: Well what the hell do you mean? I'm supposed to KEEP taking this stuff forever? Oh, I get it. I take it until my natural body processes deal with it. What a way to bullshit people into buying a bunch of boiled wood.
- It's close to nature and in harmony with peace: Hey, remember those acupuncture charts?

Guess how the Chinese figured these out? In ancient times, when life was good and people were innocent, the Chinese got guys from death row and had them cut open alive. You see, those energy connections would die if the subject died and therefore had to be kept alive during the whole cutting up process. It's like how if you pinch a frog somewhere a limb moves and stuff. Except with people. And that's how acupuncture charts came about. Actually this might be the only part of Oriental medicine that may have some merit. Then again, you never know which ones are true and which ones they made up. Did you know that if you pinch the front edge of your ribcage about 1/3 from the bottom real hard the elbow on the same side of your body feels a reaction? But the harmonious part is seriously and dangerously bullshit.
Helps circulate blood: An old time Korean favorite. I guess it's not technically a lie because by drinking this you will instantly get red in the face trying to barf it out. Yeah, I'd say it circulates blood. But very, very misleading...

If you come to this side of the world, a lot of tours cover a part of traditional medicine, especially if the area you're visiting either has a market that is known for it, or if there's a place that grows the ingredients (like tours you take on Jeju island). It's all bullshit. It deserves no respect. It's not closer to earth and nature... if you rely on it you will join the earth and nature earlier than expected.
Chinese emperors often searched for eternal life. The Chinese doctors looked for ways to achieve this but emperors who went for it ended up dying early. The reason was because every time they made a new brew, mercury was always included. If you think about that, it makes you wonder if you want to take this stuff at all. Actually, I think the only way it "works" is that it tastes so disgusting that you will will yourself into getting healed a day faster so you don't have to take that crap anymore.

Declaring War on Bullshit

2009-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bullshit is all around us.
At first I thought, I'll just make a site about bullshit in Korea since that's where I live and Korea happens to be full of bullshit (more so than most other countries I've lived in). But I thought, why stop there?
Because I live here most of my entries will be about Korea but generally, I think we all should declare war on bullshit because bullshit is dangerous and prevents us from doing the right thing.