Open Thread #69

by Robert Koehler on October 4, 2008

If want to say about the Palin-Biden debate or make crude “69″ comments, do it here.

{ 128 comments… read them below or add one }

1 hoju_saram October 4, 2008 at 11:30 am

cellar door

Discuss.

2 hoju_saram October 4, 2008 at 11:43 am

A quick shout out to those with nothing to do this weekend: the Jinju Lantern festival is on and it’s supposed to be one of the better festivals in Korea at this time of year. Just about to head to the bus station myself…

3 KrZ October 4, 2008 at 11:44 am

fapfapfap

4 Darth Babaganoosh October 4, 2008 at 11:44 am

“69″ comments are never crude.

5 abcdefg October 4, 2008 at 11:58 am

Speaking of “69″…

I still can’t help but wonder how wjk and baduk manage not to be the same person behind the screen. ;)

And speaking of baduk, he wrote this in the previous Open Thread:

Ms. Choi’s suicide really brought home the message that this world is not a Disneyland. It shook me hard.

I don’t know about you, but in a time like this I find solace in the promises written in the Bible. And, I look forward to the next life – eternal life.

I just feel sorry for those who do not know about this great promise. Or, so hardened by this life that no capacity left to trust the great promise for Mankind.

For me, I am contented in believing in Jesus and what he said. Amen.

This comment is ironic. For the world’s majority of Christians – ie, the Catholics – you go to hell if you commit suicide. Ms. Choi, then, is burning in Hell, or will be.

(I, in all sincerity, believe that if some Creator intelligent deity/God exists, chances are such a God ain’t Christian! and may even send Christians to a place equivalent to Hell purely because they are Christian (very much like the way some Protestant Christians believe that murderers and rapists can go to heaven simply because they are Christian). And, of course, Muslims would be in Hell too.)

Have a nice weekend, folks.

6 gbevers October 4, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Sarah Palin did great in the debate. If she were running against Barrack Obama, I think she would win.

7 SomeguyinKorea October 4, 2008 at 2:02 pm

#6,

Fess up, you only watched the first 15 minutes.

Palin began struggling at about the halfway mark. She was obviously out of her league. She was unable to formulate a single complex answer, whereas Biden did so seemingly effortlessly. Biden even made a fool of her for trying the soccer mom shtick by replying, almost tearfully, that he too, as the father of two children, understood how it felt to have a child who struggles.

8 TomCoyner October 4, 2008 at 2:11 pm

So far the debates have been a wash. In the first presidential debate, McCain needed to see Obama stumble, but he didn’t. Yesterday, the Dems needed to see Palin stumble and she didn’t.

The fact is McCain has failed to hit anything out of the park to reverse the trend aiding Obama. And the Dems are disappointed that Palin didn’t blow a hole in her canoe that would have also done considerable damage to McCain’s reputation for judgment.

The deciding presidential election factors will probably be the economy and how many “undecided” can stomach a Black First Family in the White House (pun intended). The first will favor the Dems and the latter will work for the Republicans.

9 gbevers October 4, 2008 at 2:25 pm

Choi Jin-sil’s suicide was very stupid and very selfish. She had money, beauty, a career, adoring fans, and two children who loved and needed her. Why kill herself? Could she have done it thinking that she would somehow receive eternal pity?

I realize that depression can cause people to do stupid things, but I also think that Korea is turning into a selfish, pity-seeking society. Maybe it is another form of han?

Now, I wonder how many lonely Korean women will see the pictures and video of people crying over the death of Choi Jin-sil and start wondering if they could get the same kind of pity and attention by killing themselves?

I think the Korean media needs to point out the fact that she killed herself with seemingly very little concern for how it would affect her children, not to mention her family and friends. For the benefit of all the people out there considering suicide, I think the Korean media needs to point out how suicide is usually a very selfish way to die and that the pity they may be seeking is fleeting. In two months, the suicide of Choi Jin-sil will be old news.

10 Darth Babaganoosh October 4, 2008 at 2:36 pm

In two months? It’s been less than one month and Ahn Jae-hwan is already old news.

11 SomeguyinKorea October 4, 2008 at 2:55 pm

“Yesterday, the Dems needed to see Palin stumble and she didn’t.”

Actually, she did begin to stumble halfway through.

She was out of her league and you could tell she knew it by the look on her face. Biden appeared to have a hard time preventing himself from cracking up while she was trying to answer some answers.

She wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes without being able to read answers that had been prepared for her on her laptop.

12 Iceberg October 4, 2008 at 3:29 pm

Sarah Palin did great in the debate.

If by “great” you mean not coming across as a rambling idiot (as was anticipated by many), then, yes, she did “great”. If, however, you mean she presented detailed explanations of her ticket’s positions on a variety of issues – other than reciting over and over again that she and McCain are “mavericks” then I beg to differ.

If she were running against Barrack Obama, I think she would win.

Ha ha…ha HA HA ha!

13 Sperwer October 4, 2008 at 3:37 pm

I also think that Korea is turning into a selfish, pity-seeking society. Maybe it is another form of han?

“Is turning”? Korea has been working that mojo for 120+ years. It’s an original element, and has been a persistent and pervasive theme, of Korean nationalism. It infects both the left and the right and informs both the distinctive and the shared political myopia of both. If not extirpated, will be one of the dispositive reasons “Why Korea Will Fail”.™

14 r.rac October 4, 2008 at 3:41 pm

and in an act of true irony 13 years to the day he was found not guilty of double murder Orenthal James Simpson was found guilty of 12 counts off armed robber, kidnapping etc and likely will face life in prison

aint payback a bitch?

15 user-81 October 4, 2008 at 3:55 pm

and in an act of true irony 13 years to the day he was found not guilty of double murder Orenthal James Simpson was found guilty of 12 counts off armed robber, kidnapping etc and likely will face life in prison

This will probably derail his efforts to find the real killers.

16 Nappunsaram October 4, 2008 at 5:00 pm

I watched that debate with an open mind thinking she was an unknown quantity, and after watching it, I know that she’s just an empty head, which is hugely disappointing.

She dodged any question that she didn’t know how to answer:
IFILL: Governor, please if you want to respond to what he said about Senator McCain’s comments about health care?
PALIN: I would like to respond about the tax increases.

Biden CRUSHED her when the actually got to the topic of healthcare, and talking about how people in your family are teachers and “giving a shout out” to a 3rd grade class does not make you an expert on education. Even her views on carbon emissions didn’t make any sense. She says she’s for caps on carbon emissions because “not everyone cares about the environment like we do,” meanwhile, most of the time the U.S. is the one that won’t sign treaties and such because it’s felt that it could hinder the economy (which is a valid argument) showing she has no idea what other countries are doing regarding carbon emissions.

I could go on forever about how heartbroken I was to see how little she knew, and how she seemed to laugh that off with “oh, well, I’m so obviously a Washington outsider…”

Here’s a transcript if anyone’s interested, and there’s a link there to the video of the debate:
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/vice-presidential-debate.html

17 HouseisGOD October 4, 2008 at 5:56 pm

@9, it has nothing to do with pity it’s probably the way she was raised. The one thing I’ve noticed about Korea is the welcoming of rampant emotional abuse.

It’s no wonder this country gets emotional when children and women are under constant emotional abuse. When they do grow up all they find is more abuse from bosses forcing them to work 60 hours a week most of it for free.

18 HouseisGOD October 4, 2008 at 6:00 pm

@6, btw Korea isn’t a confucian country. It’s more of a propaganda tool to get the public to accept abuse.

What’s the point of debating the debates? I have never seen the outcome of any of these debates influence election results.

19 exit86 October 4, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Question for Mr. Koehler:
In your bio on this site, it says you — at some definitive point in the past — decided to don the traditional garb of the countries in which you reside.
Do you still do this in Korea? If so, which “traditional” garb have you chosen to wear, taking into account the fact that individuals dressed according to their status and occupation in Korea’s past? Just wondering. Thanks.

20 bumfromkorea October 4, 2008 at 6:37 pm

I’d say her suicide has to do with the unusually large importance Korean society places on public perception of self than self-pity. When you spend extraordinary amount of time thinking about what other people think of you in a society that has 리플 threads all over the place (AND you’re a rich celebrity who has already been the target of many scandals and unwanted attentions)…

On a much, much, lighter subject, I also thought Palin did great. Think of it like this… a high school football team just played the New England Patriots (with Tom Brady), and the score was 3-59 Patriots. I’d be very impressed that the high school team actually scored. I mean, I wouldn’t put any of the high school players on one of the NFL teams, but still. Kudos.

21 Hachiko October 4, 2008 at 8:24 pm

Insightful commentary from http://www.fivethirtyeight.com, a great polling site for political junkies on the Biden/Palin debate:

The McCain campaign did not opt, in the end, for Sarah Barracuda. They wanted Palin scripted, and in some cases she seemed to have her lines literally memorized. This was the more risk-averse choice, but provided for few genuine moments of spontaneity.

It also allowed Joe Biden to get a lot of free shots in at John McCain, several of which were quite effective. Perhaps, in the end, this wasn’t as difficult a debate for Biden to prepare for as it had been made out to be. Hammer McCain, knowing that Palin would have to go off-script to defend him. It also allowed Biden to be the more emotive candidate.

Sean will talk more about this, but I suspect that the Sarah Palin chapter of the campaign is largely over. She may draw large crowds in her next couple of public appearances; it’s also not out of the question that the media will sour on her performance in the forthcoming days, once it’s been removed somewhat from her safety net of low expectations. But after that, she may largely fade into the background, and if she is making news, it may not be for reasons the McCain campaign likes.

At the end of the day, this is another missed opportunity for the McCain campaign, a fact which is only betrayed by conservative commentators’ hyperbolic attempts to spin to the contrary. But McCain may well have been willing to take that settlement ahead of time, figuring they had more to lose tonight than to gain.

22 Chun October 4, 2008 at 10:39 pm
23 KrZ October 4, 2008 at 11:04 pm

hmm… (NSFW)
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3

24 wookinponub October 4, 2008 at 11:34 pm

Image 3 scarred me for life. Thanks a lot.
The “experts” on Larry King commented on the winking bullshit, about how middle America “talks that way”. I grew up in the Midwest. Never saw the winking in ‘everyday’ conversation. More of an annoying tic to me. I think it’s a distraction, an indication of condescension. “I’m like you” (wink, wink). Don’t look for substance (wink, wink). The whole process is bullshit anyway. Vote third party.

25 inkevitch October 4, 2008 at 11:40 pm

gbevers, Wow. On so many levels. I hope there never comes a time when one of your friends is suffering from mental illness and needs help and understanding and not judgement.

You rattle off a list of reasons why she shouldn’t kill herself, all valid, and then miss the point completely. There were many positive things in her life. But in mental illness your perception is altered and you thoughts disordered so that you can not see what everyone else sees. One of the reason it comes as a shock. Everyone is thinking “she must be happy, what a great life” but for some reason or another her coping mechanisms are shoddy and her reaction to adverse events is exaggerated and irrational.

You keep saying that it is selfish, and that she should be shamed. This will do nothing other than add more stigma to mental illness and make people in need of counselling and support not seek the help they need. If someone has got to the point where they are deluded enough to think the world hates them and there is no light at the end of the tunnel, do you really think a public service announcement on how “selfish” suicide is will stop them?

And suicide is not a Korean phenomenon, It is actually linked to how developed or wealthy a society is, social isolation and the society’s ability to have open discourse on personal problems.

Other places where the suicide rate is high is Scandinavia and rural Australia. I bet if you have a look at Alaska’s suicide rate it will be pretty high.

A normal person will not see all the gnashing of teeth and wailing and think, “what an awesome way to get some pity”. A normal person realises that pity is no good for the dead. You have to have serious mood and thought disorder.

Gbevers for the benefit of those out there considering suicide, shut up.

26 parker October 5, 2008 at 1:02 am

Anybody hear anything about showings of Modern Boy (모던보이) at Yongsan CGV with English subtitles? It was on the original list of movies slated to show there with 영어자막 but the CGV website doesn’t list anything but regular showings.

27 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 1:10 am

Dear Mr. Koehler.

Please reinstate Mins.

Please Do the right thing.

28 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 1:17 am

Dear KrZ,
I admit that I lost respect for you over the past 2 weeks. All of it. Especially after learning that you should be on the DEA’s watch list.

You are what the majority of Democrats are.

A misogynist at heart, irreligious, etc.

So, there’s an uproar if Obama is shown with clothes he actually wore, while there’s no uproar if people photo-shop Palin?

Is Larry Flynt working on digging up sex tapes of Republicans caught on camera? He does it every election year. It’s very telling that his wife died of AIDS, but he didn’t. That means at least one thing, quite clearly.

Can the DEA please catch KrZ, before he sells or makes drugs to feed innocent people in Korea, again?

Dammit, they’re allowed to drink and smoke and die that way, but no way in hell should they be doing KrZ’s choice of drugs.

29 a-letheia October 5, 2008 at 1:20 am

Gerry: “Sarah Palin did great in the debate.”

Do you mean like not answering questions? I think America needs a lot more than a cheerleader.

30 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:35 am

I think image3 is not possible. 69 is more likely. Image2′s male is her hubby, I fully approve.

To abcdefg, Yes, yes and yes.

To gbevers, it is so refreshing when you are not talking about Dokdo, or Takeshima for you.

I wonder what kind of losers watch VP debate. When either Obama or the old goat wins, these people will be shown the smallest room in the White House and not to come out four years.

Total nobodies. Total losers.

I have better things to do than see two losers yapping.

31 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:44 am

With 69, Palin will not get much satisfaction.

I hope the old goat’s mouth is working.

If this happens, then the goat will be beaten up by her hubbie. Should the secret service shoot Mr. Palin if that takes place?

What do you think?

32 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:44 am

With 69, Palin will not get much satisfaction.

I hope the old goat’s mouth is working.

If this happens, then the goat will be beaten up by her hubbie. Should the secret service shoot Mr. Palin if that takes place?

What do you think?

33 KrZ October 5, 2008 at 1:47 am

wjk is Democrat/Liberal just your general term for people who you don’t like? Just to clue you in I’ve never voted Democrat in my life, it has been straight ticket Libertarian every election since I turned 18.

As to my criminal past, I encourage anyone and everyone to engage in civil disobedience of drug laws, gambling laws, prostitution laws, Federal tax laws, and all of the other Federal encroachment on individual freedom. I am completely unashamed of my previous activity in militant Libertarian groups and of my supposed crimes.

34 KrZ October 5, 2008 at 1:49 am

Forgot to add: The first 2 photoshops are mine, the third was another entry in a photoshop competition.

35 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 2:12 am

Do you think an Indian would crave for a hamburger if it wasn’t some peer pressure that caused a Hindu to eat at BurgerMan’s?

Same with your “civil disobedience”. You have created demand for a product that would not have otherwise existed or would have been necessary. You have “chained” that person to a demand for life. You are an evil person.

Incidentally, the liberal Democrats are the ones in the US, who want to legalize what are called “vices”. Voting for them, in say San Francisco, you will realize these rights, that would not be recognized elsewhere in the Union.

Tax evasion is also a crime. However, the Democrats do want your money, so there is an inner conflict there for you.

DEA, IRS should be on your doorsteps.

36 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 2:52 am

by Obama’s logic, shouldn’t Europe be voting Conservatives in to replace the Idiot Policies of the Socialists, that has Europe on the verge of copying George W. Bush’s bailout?

Let’s review Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats major contribution since 2006, taking control of the House and Senate, bettering American lives.

What? What have they to show for it?

37 Sonagi October 5, 2008 at 2:52 am

As to my criminal past, I encourage anyone and everyone to engage in civil disobedience of drug laws,…

Just please don’t encourage premenopausal women. We have enough permanently, physiologically damaged children of drug users in our schools, thanks. Don’t throw red herrings about how the war on drugs has failed miserably. One can oppose laws without actually breaking them. I favor legalizing drugs but would not use drugs to demonstrate my opposition to laws proscribing them.

38 Sonagi October 5, 2008 at 3:23 am

The deciding presidential election factors will probably be the economy and how many “undecided” can stomach a Black First Family in the White House (pun intended).

There are far fewer of the latter than you might realize, and they’ve been voting Republican in presidential elections since Reagan.

39 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 3:54 am

I wonder what kind of losers watch VP debate. When either Obama or the old goat wins, these people will be shown the smallest room in the White House and not to come out four years.

The ability of the VP to take over is always relevant. According to actuarial tables, 72-year-old John McCain has a 15% chance of dying before the end of his first term and a 1-in-3 chance of dying before the end of a second term. Someone Barack Hussein Obama’s would be only 10% as likely as McCain to die before the end of the fist term, but since Barry was a smoker, it’s 1/6th the chance.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13096.html

Actuarial tables aside, presidents get assassinated and the Washington area sometimes has nasty things like the Loxosceles reclusa show up which could be lurking in some hidden corner of a desk somewhere in the Oval Office.

Presidents die and VPs take over, VPs are elevated to frontrunner status at the end of their run as VP, and VPs must stand in for the president sometimes, so the VP pick is important.

40 R. Elgin October 5, 2008 at 3:57 am

A quote from Representative Tom Davis (VA):

. . . discussing voting rights for felons, he allowed that not all felons are Democrats. “There are a lot of Republican felons,” he said. “I served with them in Congress.”

Mr. Davis is quiting politics and the above article tells why. The system is broken — in a nutshell.

41 timmy October 5, 2008 at 8:41 am

I’ve heard some Korean conservatives compare Obama to Roh, but doesn’t Palin remind you of everything that was wrong about Roh? Granted, she is much less defensive, insecure, or ideological than Roh (which isn’t saying much), but she’s obviously pushing the populist image that defined both Roh and his administration.

The “folksy” image she tries to protray by using down-to-earth and borderline inappropriate language is certainly reminiscent of the populist persona Roh tried hard to project throughout his career by using crude, inciting language that was supposed to help him connect with the people. Palin is, of course, less hateful and less sarcastic, but just as Roh failed, Palin’s political career on the national stage is all but over as of election date in November. If only she had a few years to read some newspaper articles and use her passport to see the world before she was thrust into the limelight, she might have had a more promising career outside of Alaska. Well, thank God it didn’t happen that way.

The world can afford to have a Roh for Korea’s president, but not a Palin as the US’. The stakes are just too high.

42 setnaffa October 5, 2008 at 8:47 am

I’m amazed at the speed of leftists and their useful idiots changing from crowing about “Freedom of Choice” and “Women’s Right to Privacy” to digging through dustbins across Alaska in the hopes of finding anything they can make up about the very type of independent-minded, strong woman they claim to support…

Of course, the fact that anyone thinks Kos offers a balanced perspective shows the delusional state of that mind.

Personally, I hold the utmost contempt for those who claim to be American and attack women. They’re cowards and vermin unworthy of our attention. If they had a single ounce of self-respect, they’d already have committed suicide; but instead, they turn their hatred toward people with guts who took what life gave them and succeeded.

May the LORD give them repentance and wisdom.

43 Sonagi October 5, 2008 at 9:04 am

Personally, I hold the utmost contempt for those who claim to be American and attack women.

So attacking men is okay? Personally, I hold the utmost contempt for those who patronize women as the weaker sex. Did you speak up when right-wing nuts went after former First Lady Hillary Clinton?

On a lighter note, check out this flowermobile that ferried the recently deceased father of Kim Young-Sam.

44 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 9:10 am

yup, i think I mentioned Obama was using race, which apparently trumps the centuries old tradition of giving the woman some leeway, to further his cause.

if there are right wing nuts, there are left wing nuts, and left wing nuts are irreligious, hedonistic, and harmful to social stability.

45 Linkd October 5, 2008 at 9:25 am

This is interesting (NYT).

PARIS — A coded French diplomatic cable leaked to a French newspaper quotes the British ambassador in Afghanistan as predicting that the NATO-led military campaign against the Taliban will fail. That was not all. The best solution for the country, the ambassador said, would be installing an “acceptable dictator,” according to the newspaper.

“The presence of the coalition, in particular its military presence, is part of the problem, not part of its solution,” Sir Sherard was quoted as saying. “Foreign forces are the lifeline of a regime that would rapidly collapse without them. As such, they slow down and complicate a possible emergence from the crisis.”

Within 5 to 10 years, the only “realistic” way to unite Afghanistan would be for it to be “governed by an acceptable dictator,” the cable said, adding, “We should think of preparing our public opinion” for such an outcome.

In the short run, “It is the American presidential candidates who must be dissuaded from getting further bogged down in Afghanistan,” he is quoted as saying.

46 inkevitch October 5, 2008 at 9:30 am

wjk, hedonism implies a degree of wealth and ease of leisure. The kind that would be found with the wealthy stockmarket types and the children of oil barons. Those sound like republicans.

You seem to think that morality and religion go hand in hand. And sometimes they do. But in the American electoral system religion seems more of a tool than have anything to do with the candidates actually beliefs and actions. So the average voter is voting for the religious guy because they think he must be more trustworthy. The stupidity of that reasoning being that over a large population the religious types may be more moralistic, but once it comes down to looking at individuals the corellation can not be expected to hold and the only way to judge someone is on their actions, not on some stated belief system that they may or may not choose to ignore when it becomes convenient.

47 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 9:30 am

setnaffa:
Of course, the fact that anyone thinks Kos offers a balanced perspective shows the delusional state of that mind.

I would take anything from Kos or Ann Coulter with a grain of salt.

If they had a single ounce of self-respect, they’d already have committed suicide;

No one should be encouraged to commit suicide.

wjk:
yup, i think I mentioned Obama was using race,

You certainly mentioned it, although any reasonably thinking person can see you have the whole Obama-race thing all turned around.

48 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 10:15 am

user-81, Obama is doing what Chris Rock does for a living.

inkevitch, the Elephants actually pass laws that are socially appeasing to the “plebians” that support the Republican party. The Democrats are the ones who pass laws that limit our rights, our freedoms, and willfully disrupt our system of values. And in many cases, willfully redefining the Constitution to their taste.

Obama is not a Christian. He is irreligious. Nobody takes a Caribbean vacation on Easter weekend, nor pretends not to know that his Reverand is a racist.

If Obama is seeing 8 years of economic policies gone hay wire under Bush,
1/ how does he support the bail out? On what basis? How does he “delay” his tax cuts to stimulate the economy? These Bush-o-nomics. Is he saying these policies by Bush are right? Of course he is.
2/ The Canadian tool is advocating now for an Afghan pull out. After Iraq, Afghan will be the new Vietnam for his group of thought. Obama has been saying he’ll put all the effort into Afghanistan. I suppose, one thing at a time until total exit, right? NATO has shown and proven to be a spineless, worthless organization post the 1991 Iraq War. Millions died under NATO watch in the 90s Bosnian War. NATO was content with air raids. NATO did NOT protect Georgia. NATO just watched. NATO just said, you’re bad, you’re very bad, you’re very, very very bad, Russia. NATO did not participate in Iraq in 2003. Curiously, it was NATO nations that sufferred 90% of the post 911 terrors against civilians in developed countries.

History has a place of George W. Bush. He ain’t no Warren G. Harding.

49 hardyandtiny October 5, 2008 at 11:05 am

The first one is really good, KRZ
I was struggling with color balance…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/namsanboy/sarahpalin8.jpg

50 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 11:33 am

user-81, Obama is doing what Chris Rock does for a living.

No he doesn’t.

Also I don’t think you understand what Chris Rock does for a living.

Obama is not a Christian. He is irreligious. Nobody takes a Caribbean vacation on Easter weekend, nor pretends not to know that his Reverand is a racist.

Based on a trip at Easter? Then most of the Christians I know aren’t Christians, even though they’re Christians. You and Baduk are the worst “Christians” I’ve ever seen, bunch of hatahs. Jesus would kick your ass out of the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).

And you have no business accusing someone else of being a racist (Matthew 7:3).

51 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 11:37 am

chris rock is a racist who uses that to his advantage in an acceptable forum to earn cash.

52 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 11:43 am

Obama has said, “Dobson is making that up.”

Nothing gets in the way of Obama and his goals.

He’ll probably say the Pope is “making that up.”

I know I ain’t making anything up.

Look, you can think whatever you like.

He’s the one who said the Republicans would say Michelle and him would be too black for America. He said the same concerning Hillary Clinton.

He’s a racist and a sexist, in my opinion.

53 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 11:46 am

H&T, you and KrZ are two sick s.o.b.s

And Sarah Palin’s head is too small for that body. Who’s the guy? Gavin Newsom?

54 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 11:51 am

He’s the one who said the Republicans would say Michelle and him would be too black for America.

McCain’s family is too black for some Republicans.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/03/21/the_anatomy_of_a_smear_campaign/

There are plenty Republicans who don’t want blacks in the White House and G.O.P. operatives have used that fact to defeat opponents. Barack Hussein Obama is speaking to fact. And if they can’t appeal to enough voters through anti-black sentiment then they will try to get him with the “B. Hussein Obama” label.

You are speaking out your ass about something you don’t understand, wjk. You do much better when you tell us why McCain will be a good president than you do when you try to frighten us about Obama.

55 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 11:58 am

chris rock is a racist who uses that to his advantage in an acceptable forum to earn cash.

Chris Rock is a social critic who criticizes blacks and whites both, like you say you do with kyopos and whites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niggas_vs._Black_People

56 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 12:03 pm

well, you gotta love a guy, using Abraham Lincoln style, Gettysburg address style opening of

blah-score and some years ago,

to defend a racist Reverant whose thought contents he snored off to during supposed “church” days.

I recall the nation elevating him to god status after the speech.

only to ignore the whole ordeal a few weeks later.

a great Christian like him, condemning his Pastor, after his Pastor was making a speech in D.C., in public.

he was “inconsiderate” to him and his goals, he said.

I understand it much better than you, and that’s a fact.

57 Linkd October 5, 2008 at 12:06 pm

This is interesting 2 (review for a book I haven’t read, but will):

Most people, particularly those living outside China, assume that the country’s phenomenal growth and increasing global heft are based on a steady, if not always smooth, transition to capitalism. Thirty years of reforms have freed the economy and it can be only a matter of time until the politics follows.

This gradualist view is wrong, according to an important new book by Yasheng Huang, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Original research on China is rare, largely because statistics, though plentiful, are notoriously unreliable. Mr Huang has gone far beyond the superficial data on gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign direct investment that satisfy most researchers. Instead, he has unearthed thousands of long-forgotten pages of memoranda and policy documents issued by bank chairmen, businessmen and state officials. In the process he has discovered two Chinas: one, from not so long ago, vibrant, entrepreneurial and rural; the other, today’s China, urban and controlled by the state.

In the 1980s rural China was in the ascendancy. Peasants, far from being tied to the land, as has been assumed, were free to set up manufacturing, distribution and service businesses and these were allowed to retain profits, pay dividends, issue share capital and even a form of stock option. State banks rushed to provide the finance. Nian Guangjiu, a farmer from impoverished Anhui province, built up a business selling sunflower seeds (a popular snack), employed over 100 people and made a million yuan (nearly $300,000) in profit in 1986—just a decade after Mao’s death. Because most of this activity was set up under the misleading label of “Township and Village Enterprises”, Western academics largely failed to spot that these ostensibly collective businesses were, in fact, private.

But then, in 1989, came the Tiananmen Square protests. A generation of policymakers who had grown up in the countryside, led by Zhao Ziyang, were swept away by city boys, notably the president, Jiang Zemin, and Zhu Rongji, his premier. Both men hailed from Shanghai and it was the “Shanghai model” that dominated the 1990s: rapid urban development that favoured massive state-owned enterprises and big foreign multinational companies. The countryside suffered. Indigenous entrepreneurs were starved of funds and strangled with red tape. Like many small, private businessmen, Mr Nian was arrested and his firm shut down.

True, China’s cities sprouted gleaming skyscrapers, foreign investment exploded and GDP continued to grow. But it was at a huge cost. As the state reversed course, taxing the countryside to finance urban development, growth in average household income and poverty eradication slowed while income differences and social tensions widened. Rural schools and hospitals were closed, with the result that between 2000 and 2005 the number of illiterate adults increased by 30m. According to Mr Huang, the worst weaknesses of China’s state-led capitalism—a reliance on creaking state companies rather than more efficient private ones, a weak financial sector, pollution and rampant corruption—are increasingly distorting the economy….

http://www.economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=12333103

58 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 12:19 pm

wjk at 10:15:
Nobody takes a Caribbean vacation on Easter weekend, nor pretends not to know that his Reverand is a racist.

wjk at 12:03:
a great Christian like him, condemning his Pastor, after his Pastor was making a speech in D.C., in public.

So he should criticize his pastor or not?

12:19:
Time for wjk to take his meds.

59 baduk October 5, 2008 at 12:36 pm

user-81,

I personally think Jesus is living. He is a living person. Get it into your head!

He will judge who is a Christian (this stands for a little Christ) and who is not.

Who is a Christian? One who does what Jesus wants. Not what you think. What does Jesus want? What he wrote in Bible.

When you decide who is doing what Jesus wants and who is not, you are mocking Jesus. You are using His name to make your point! Do you know what kind of sin are you committing?

To speak for Jesus, you have to know Jesus in person and born again.

Are you a born again Christian? If you are not, you do not know Jesus and you are not one of His own.

Then, you know nothing about who is a Christian and who is not.

You may think you are a Christian. Real Christians do not go around judging and calling others not Christians.

You are using His name in vain.

60 baduk October 5, 2008 at 12:41 pm

user-81,

Have you met Jesus? Have you kneel and declared Him to be your Lord? Have you given your life to Him and decided to live for Him?

Just because you quote a Bible verse does not make you a Christian?

Have been baptized in Jesus name? Baptism means that you are dead to this world and you are born again toward heaven.

Are you 100% sure that you will go to Heaven (where Jesus lives) when you die right now?

I am. I am very sure.

61 gbevers October 5, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Wjk,

I am beginning to change my opinion of you, for the better.

To all Obama supporters,

Obama is too unprincipled and too self-serving to be President. If he is elected President, I think he would be willing to sacrifice America’s interests for his own. He lacks vision and underestimates the threat from terrorists. He is a slick-talking politician who will govern based on opinion polls rather than on what is best for America. He is not a leader, but a fencesitter, who will delay making decisions until he can determine the tide of public opinion. He will backtrack and redefine his views based on his audience. He will sacrifice long-term stability for short-term gains. He will smile and talk us to death while the world crumbles around us. Do not be deceived by America’s liberal media. Look at Obama’s voting record and do your own research on Barack Obama.

With John McCain and Sarah Palin we will know what we are getting, but with Barrack Obama we will be taking a big gamble. If Joe Biden were running for President with Obama as his running mate, I would feel more comfortable, but that is not the case. If we elect Obama as President, we could be making the biggest mistake made in US history.

President Bush has been a good President. I have supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the very beginning and still do. We made big mistakes in Iraq at the beginning of the war by not going in with enough troops, but I blame that more on Rumsfeld than on President Bush. Iraq and Afghanistan were serious threats to the security of the United States and it was better to go in sooner than later.

Iran is also a serious threat, and I hope the United States is seriously considering military options, which do not have to include invasion. We can hit Iran’s nuclear facilities and terrorist training facilities without invading the country. When Iranian terrorists attack us in Iraq, we should strike back in Iran, which should make Iran think twice about supporting cross-border terrorism. It would also serve as a warning to countries like Syria.

By the way, I am extremely disappointed in the US media, which have clearly shown their liberal bias in their attacks on Sarah Palin. The bias is so obvious that I can hardly believe that they are American institutions. CNN and MSNBC have lost my respect while FOX News has gained much more of it. I do not care for Bill O’Reilly, but Fox News now seems to be one of the more fair and balanced news organizations in the United States.

I consider myself fairly liberal since I support issues like gay rights and universial health care, but the threat of terrorism is so serious that we need to take strong measures to deal with it. We cannot afford to wait for terrorists to get their hands on a nuke. If I had to choose between turning America into a police state or having one or more of our cities destroyed by a nuclear bomb planted by terrorists, I would choose a police state.

Say “NO” to Barrack Obama.

62 baduk October 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

Don’t misunderstand that I am a holy man. I am not perfect. I do sin from time to time. I hate some people and some situations. I complain sometimes.

However, through what Jesus has done, through His sacrifice on the cross, I know I will be with Him when I die.

Are you sure of this yourself? If you are not, you are not a Christian.

You gravely misunderstood who Christians are. And, who Jesus my Lord is.

He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth and He is a living God!

63 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 12:49 pm

You may think you are a Christian. Real Christians do not go around judging and calling others not Christians.

It was wjk who said “Obama is not a Christian“.

I did not say you are not a Christian, but I implied you are a bad Christian. You and wjk harbor so much hatred (and racism and in your case hatred toward women) that you are an embarrassment to all Christians.

64 inkevitch October 5, 2008 at 12:53 pm

baduk, read what you wote. Can you see where you contradicted yourself?

“Real Christians do not go around judging and calling others not Christians.”

“Are you a born again Christian? If you are not, you do not know Jesus and you are not one of His own.”

So of all the versions of Christianity only your’s is the right one? Are you admitting you are not a real Christian? Because you just did what you said real Christians do not do!

I love that you can be soooooo certain. Why? Because someone told me so? How did they know? Someone told them. And on and on and on.

65 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 12:56 pm

gbevers:
If I had to choose between turning America into a police state or having one or more of our cities destroyed by a nuclear bomb planted by terrorists, I would choose a police state.

“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.” (Benjamin Franklin)

The Bush operatives have done very well to make you think you must choose either freedom or security.

66 baduk October 5, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Too make smart-aleks called themselves Christians without making Jesus their LORD.

Yes, LORD.

Not an idea or an icon of goodness.

A living God.

God who can send you to Hell if you use His name in vain.

Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom.

67 Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog) October 5, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Don’t misunderstand that I am a holy man. I am not perfect. I do sin from time to time. I hate some people and some situations. I complain sometimes.

You are unbelievably crude about women, that’s for sure. Even for this crowd. Don’t worry that any of us think you are perfect. Or that your dance card is full on Saturday night.

68 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 1:03 pm

My guess is that Baduk hates any woman who he thinks has had a dick inside her, which he probably thinks is almost every woman. I think he even hates married women if they’ve had a dick inside her.

69 Zonath October 5, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Comment #69 on open thread #69… now that’s something special.

70 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:08 pm

user-81,

Your love toward Obama makes you blind. Politicians are just mouthpieces for some powerful men who use them as toys.

Do not get too much into politics. You do not know what they will do next. Powerful men have these jokers in their pockets.

I do not know if Obama is a Christian or not. Only Jesus can tell. McCain does not declare himself a Christian and he may not be a real Christian.

However, it is so sad that American presidential candidates do not even have to say that they are and people vote them to lead this God’s country.

What happened to America?

Then, in a sense, it is good. Being a Christian is no longer in fashion and many hypocrates will no longer carry that label. Only real Christians will.

I must say again that your political leaning make you call other Americans as your enemies. There are good Christians in both parties.

71 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:14 pm

user-81,

Don’t you have to quote at least one example of your assertion that I hate women?

Maybe you have lived in Korea too long that now you like Chinese-style labelling where nobody needs to provide any evidence.

Don’t use Carr as your witness. Carr is THE RACIST on this blog. He hates Koreans and will do anything to defame me, a KA.

72 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:20 pm

There are good women and bad women and some in-between.

I just saw the movie, Apporoosa, today. There was a in-between bimbo in that movie.

My mother is a good woman. One who sacrifices herself for the family. And, I know there are many women like her in Korea and in the world. Good mothers who take care of her husband and her children.

I hate bimbos, gold-diggers and selfish whores.

Don’t you?

73 Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog) October 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Mom’s the best! The rest are all gold-diggers, bimbos and whores. Yep, this guy’s got a bad case of the Madonna/Whore Complex.

74 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Your love toward Obama makes you blind.

I am not voting for Obama.

However, it is so sad that American presidential candidates do not even have to say that they are and people vote them to lead this God’s country. What happened to America?

This is not God’s country. It was founded by people who could not agree on what it meant to love God.

Don’t you have to quote at least one example of your assertion that I hate women?

The libelous shit you wrote about Choi Jin-sil made me retch. You hate women.

75 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:29 pm

Carr,

Twisting words and making false claims are your specialty.

I know what. You are not good in your trade.

That is why you are stuck in Korea.

Go back to where you belong.

76 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:34 pm

user-81,

I hate any person who does not do her duty. She gave births to two kids. It is her responsibility.

Libelous shit? I believe that is what happened. Why would a top actress kill herself?

Do you kill yourself because someone like me made a false accusation? Do you?

If you know anything about entertainment industry, politics and life in general that they do not print on newspaper, then you will not call my assertion shit.

You are naive.

77 Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog) October 5, 2008 at 1:36 pm

baduk — You’re a real piece of work. If twisting words and making false claims is my specialty, how on Earth could you argue that makes me a poor lawyer? And which Christian Bible is it that gives you such license to be hateful — to me, to women, to the dead?

You were missing in action here on Marmot’s Hole for something like a year. Were you institutionalized during that period? And how do we go back to those blissful, peaceful days?

78 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:41 pm

Carr,

I wrote this so many times. You do not like Koreans. Why stay in Korea?

Go back to the States. Let your kids grow up in a country where they want to live.

When I look back at my life, there are something gained by living in the States, but there are something lost.

When I retire, I seriously think about going back to Korea.

79 Darth Babaganoosh October 5, 2008 at 1:43 pm

#48: “The Democrats are the ones who pass laws that limit our rights, our freedoms, and willfully disrupt our system of values.”

Methinks you haven’t been paying close attention for the past 8 years. It wasn’t the Dems that did it. Look no further than hero, W.

80 Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog) October 5, 2008 at 1:48 pm

When I look back at my life, there are something gained by living in the States, but there are something lost.

My money’s on it being your sanity.

81 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 1:48 pm

Libelous shit? I believe that is what happened.

I was just answering your question. I wasn’t asking for more of your woman-hating “belief”.

Do you think your libelous words (your guess not facts) about a depressed woman who committed suicide make people wonder about the glory of God and His son Jesus?

82 baduk October 5, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Carr,

Thank you for remembering that I have been active for about a year. I have been working hard on my profession since my masters degree in Computer Science.

I take back my remark about your not being good at your profession. That was too much. I appologize.

I saw the movie, Ghost town, today and decided to be extra nice to people. My LORD tells me to be nice to you, even though I do not want to be.

83 a-letheia October 5, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Gerry: “If I had to choose between turning America into a police state or having one or more of our cities destroyed by a nuclear bomb planted by terrorists, I would choose a police state.”

FEAR and fear. Are these the only options? This is exactly why we need new ways of thinking in the White House.

84 Iceberg October 5, 2008 at 2:12 pm

“My guess is that Baduk hates any woman who he thinks has had a dick inside her…” – user81

“My mother is a good woman.” – Baduk

Hah! Proved YOU wrong, user-81.

(Unless Baduk thinks that he is Jesus…which he just might.)

85 R. Elgin October 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm

Has the loss of the Won directly affected many people herein yet?

My only complaint is what this has done to air fare, which is getting to be very high.

86 kimchipig October 5, 2008 at 3:34 pm

Ahh, Gerry Bevers. If Lassie or Bozo the Clown were running as a Republican, he would vote for them.

All Obama has to do now is coast to the finish. McCain’s antics during the big ol’sop ‘o corporate welfare (to the tune of, what is it, a gazillion dollars?) finished him. Palin is cute in a hockey mom kind of way and she appeals to the knuckle draggers but presidential? Hardly.

The Dems let Palin off easy. Instead of lambasting her and getting her a sympathy bump, they played it safe.

Obama has the largest poll lead since Truman/Dewey.

87 boshintang October 5, 2008 at 4:39 pm

#85 In so far as I correctly predicted that the won would hit 1200 by this year, my currency speculations have been accurate. (I made the prediction some time in January on this website). My latest predictions that Korea’s finance industry bubble and real estate bubble will pop are also beginning to show fruit. It has been a great year to go short!

88 boshintang October 5, 2008 at 4:40 pm

#85 In so far as I correctly predicted that the won would hit 1200 by this year, my currency speculations have been accurate. (I made the prediction some time in January on this website). My latest predictions that Korea’s finance industry bubble and real estate bubble will pop are also beginning to show fruit. It has been a great year to go short!

89 user-81 October 5, 2008 at 4:47 pm

(Unless Baduk thinks that he is Jesus…which he just might.)

Baduk believes his mother used a turkey baster.

90 Linkd October 5, 2008 at 6:28 pm

I think the similarity of their writing styles is perhaps making you mix up baduk and wjk, user-81. baduk has said and done nothing to invite this type of foul insult from you, in this or the choi jin shil thread.

91 William_G October 5, 2008 at 6:39 pm

I think the similarity of their writing styles is perhaps making you mix up baduk and wjk, user-81.

It’s hard to tell the insane apart. I think the flying spittle and jizz-stained trousers are just a couple of reasons for this.

Now that I’ve cleared that up:

Marmot, registering for this site has gotten me access to some sort of the admin panel for this site.

Right Now

You have 6,880 posts, contained within 31 categories and 76 tags. You have 131,014 total comments, 130,767 approved, 245 spam and 2 awaiting moderation.

You are using the Sandbox theme with 11 widgets. This is WordPress version 2.6.2.

Akismet has protected your site from 62,773 spam comments already, and there are 245 comments in your spam queue right now.

If you want, I’ll delete the spam next time I’m on.

92 William_G October 5, 2008 at 6:40 pm

And unless something happened since I woke up, Taiwan is not part of Australia… That flag function is screwed.

93 michael October 5, 2008 at 6:40 pm

Great Ben Franklin quote, User 81. Back when our leaders were wise….

Speaking of terrorist threats in America, why is it that the “liberal media” has barely touched Palin’s documented connections with the Alaska Independence Party, which advocates state secession, which is treason?

Here she is addressing an AIP convention on their site:

http://www.akip.org/conv08.html

“I’m Governor Sarah Palin and I am delighted to welcome you to the 2008 Alaskan Independence Party Convention in the golden heart city of Fairbanks. Your party plays an important role in our state’s politics. I’ve always said that competition is so good, and that applies to political parties as well.”

Their site doesn’t deny that the First Dood Todd Palin was a member but denies she ever was. However:

Video footage shows AIP Vice Chairman Dexter Clark describing Palin at the 2007 North American Secessionist Convention as an “AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town — that was a nonpartisan job. But you get along to go along. She eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won’t go into that.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-brooks4-2008sep04,0,5675222.column

Since the media is kept away from Palin we have no idea what her current beliefs about this party are, just as we might not find out whether she abused power in the “troopergate” investigation since the McCain campaign is doing its damnedest to block it.

McCain’s VP pick shows poor judgment, and Palin is a mediocre local politician with massive credibility problems. We might be taking a chance with Obama, true, but we’d be reckless as hell voting for McCain.

The 2008 election is almost history, so let’s start getting some real, credible options for 2012 besides Dems and Repubs.

Oh, and on the topic of “69″:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33119

94 hoju_saram October 5, 2008 at 6:49 pm

How about you guys hurry up and pick your fucking president so the rest of us don’t have to hear about it anymore.

95 michael October 5, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Hoju Saram, where are you from? Believe me, I hate talking politics and if McCain had picked almost anyone else I probably wouldn’t say anything about it here or anywhere else.

Sometimes Americans just baffle me, though. We demand nothing from our leaders and fall for the most patent BS. So I come here where Mr. Marmot graciously allows us to vent. It helps me cut down on my alcohol intake :)

96 Iceberg October 5, 2008 at 7:10 pm

C’mon hoju, important decisions like these take time. ;-)

97 Iceberg October 5, 2008 at 7:12 pm

That’s a Sarah Palin wink, btw. You betcha. ;-)

98 hoju_saram October 5, 2008 at 7:31 pm

Sorry guys, I think I snapped when I turned on the TV the other day to watch Janngu and there was a debate between a couple of potential vice-somethings. However, in light of the three smilies I just recieved in a row, I hereby withdraw my protest. Carry on.

99 gbevers October 5, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Kimchipig (#86),

Yes, I think you might me right. Lassie and Bozo do sound like a better choice than Obama and Biden.

100 abcdefg October 5, 2008 at 8:07 pm

michael, were you being rhetorical? Or is your Korean so ignorant that you wouldn’t know that “hoju_saram” is as the name straightly denotes an Australian?

Oh, yeah. What is about Christians. If you notice, and if I may say so, it’s the Christians on this blog that tend to be the biggest assholes — not to say baduk or wjk are assholes, but you know.

I hate religious tolerance. It’s about time Christians are shown the true light and the way. They’ll see how fictitious their faiths are and how empty the emotions propping up such faiths are, sooner or later; and they shall be enlightened, not reborn, but born, sayith abcdefg. (Haha. I can’t take this taking myself seriously business too seriously. Yet this triumphalism is the religious — not just Christian, but Muslim – man’s bread and butter. I have the advantage in this stupid game in that I am at least correct.)

Oh, it’s that time again that we see baduk and wjk in action, together, forever, in their own rap video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjIK_HiDptk

:)

101 r.rac October 5, 2008 at 10:48 pm

baduk, if you are in the states, i HIGHLY encourage you to see “Religulous”, might do you some good

102 Darth Babaganoosh October 5, 2008 at 10:57 pm

#97, who do you think we are, talking to us like that? Joe Six-pack?

103 baduk October 5, 2008 at 11:29 pm

r.rac,

I will do if you watch this video,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHx1jeWGsvk&feature=related

104 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 5, 2008 at 11:56 pm

i don’t take any meds. I suspect I will be on Lipitor and a diuretic by age 50, but for now, nothing. I am 5’10″, 165 pounds to 170 pounds depending on when it is measured, in optimal health, and by insurance company standards, the category where you get the best rate for life insurance.

I never said you are crazy, user-81. If you can’t counter, then better to shut up.

Obama is “blasting” McCain’s healthcare policy. Let’s go to the substance about what Obama’s policy on healthcare is then. He will make the 250k plus earners to pay for everything. I think you’ll see a dramatic rise in people who file for earning 249K, and put the rest in LLC’s or something. That is unattainable lie #1.

Obama is saying he’ll make things cheaper by allowing the govt to underpay insurance companies and drug companies and by raising standards and accountability by insurance companies, drug companies, and healthcare providers. Don’t sweat too much Bumfromkorea, but this RAISES costs. And dude, where the hell is tort reform, which is saving costs in Europe relative to America? Oh, I forgot. Obama is a lawyer with a Harvard law degree and years of firm practice and he takes money from the American Bar Association. No way he’s going for any tort reform. That’s lie #2.

Lie #3. How to fund his project, while committing $700B that is necessary to save the world?

A+ on oratory skills. D- in substance.

105 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 6, 2008 at 12:08 am

most importantly, Joe Torre may become one of the few to be World Series winning managers in NL and AL.

Yankee staff, Boston slugger, Boston starting pitcher.

More important than that, Will Chanho Park ever pitch in the NLCS?

That is even more important.

106 KrZ October 6, 2008 at 12:54 am

As much as I hate socialized medicine I almost want to see it happen just to watch egomaniac doctors cry about it.

107 kimchipig October 6, 2008 at 12:59 am

“$700B that is necessary to save the world”

Are you referring the largest piece of corporate welfare in the world’s history? It isn’t going to save anything but the payments on innumerable Ferrari cars. Is it going to “save” a family that has seen its income go down $2000 in the last eight years?

But then again, I have always been shocked by the surrealism I see from my neighbours down south.

No health insurance.

People who make more than $250k a year don’t pay tax.

Wars based on lies.

Millions of homes in foreclosure.

Huge recession and the GOP is blaming everybody but themselves.

And of course, repeating Dan Quayle with Sarah Palin.

108 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 6, 2008 at 1:10 am

actually, what has the Democrat controlled House and Senate done since taking power in 2006?

I think you can objectively say there was a rescue effect from Bush’s policy since taking office, surviving the bust that comes with the boom of the 90s.

The Democrats are excusing themselves of having done nothing since 2006.

They took in as much money from Lehman’s, Goldman’s, Bear Stearns, etc. Curiously silent on that point. There is proof these 3 gave more money to Obama this year than McCain. Solid proof.

And if this $700B is corporate wellfare, why is the World Bank and the European Union showing signs of doing exactly what Bush did for European banks?

By your logic, shouldn’t Europe vote the Right into power to replace the 10 years of failure in economic policies by the left?

There is absolutely no accountability or consistency.

109 kimchipig October 6, 2008 at 1:25 am

And the GOP controlled the Senate and House from 1996-2006, the Presidency from 1980-1992 and then again from 200-2008.

There is no point arguing with a zealot, but your commie neighbours in the Frozen North got themselves in a jam round about 1992. Basically, the banks were going to cut the government off. So what did the commie boshevik cancuks do? Well, they took their knocks and got their house in order. There is surprisingly little blame since we were all responsible for it.

Now, your liberal commie neighbours have every single government in surplus. Nary a deficit to be seen in the entire country. We are not in a recession. Our dollar is worth 80% more than it was five years ago. Our debt to GDP ratio is the lowest in the G-8. We did that while retaining social programmes that go a long way to keep social peace.

But fiscal responsibility is obviously a commie/terrorist concept. The way of Bushism is the only way for Bushites.

110 kimchipig October 6, 2008 at 1:35 am

And as a final farewell, wkj, I will state the obvious. I am sure you know this, which is why the Bushites are so desperate now:

Bushism is over. It was a miserable failure. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Obama is coasting to victory. He know it. Whatever chance McCain had (and he never really did have a chance, it is over now. He is too old and Palin is an idiot. The GOP put Grampy McCain on the podium because they knew they were toast. Hell, even McCain and the Moose Lady do everything they can to distance themselves from their own party.

To my American friends: Your house is not in order. Your levels of debt, deficits and consumer bankruptcies have to be taken care of. Take your lumps. You are going to have at least three painful years to get out of this mess.

111 KrZ October 6, 2008 at 1:38 am

>>By your logic, shouldn’t Europe vote the Right into power to replace the 10 years of failure in economic policies by the left?

You keep saying this. Chirac dismantled a lot of the socialist structure of the French economy during his 12 years in power. I don’t know about the rest of Europe but I really don’t think there has been any push to the left there in the last decade, at least not with regards to fiscal policy. Not that that has anything to do with it as the French bailout plan is not in response to a local crisis but rather to the global tightening of the credit market.

Idiot bankers in the U.S. decide it’s a great idea to let people simply tell them how much they make and take their word for it (which they are allowed to do due to deregulation), leading to a bubble in housing prices, and people who can’t pay their mortgages which then screw up the credit markets as huge chunks of mortgage-backed securities stop performing. What does any of this have to do with EU financial policy?

Sometimes your logic is so flawed I think I’m just getting trolled by replying to you.

112 KrZ October 6, 2008 at 1:49 am

>>By your logic, shouldn’t Europe vote the Right into power to replace the 10 years of failure in economic policies by the left?

Wait a second. The US deregulated the mortgage industry, idiot banks started giving loans to people based on what they said their income was, with no verification, these loans got packed into mortgage-backed securities, which then went bad, thereby freezing the global credit markets. How can you blame any of this on EU fiscal policy? This is such a completely illogical statement yet you keep making it.

113 KrZ October 6, 2008 at 1:53 am

Wonder if I can get a new flag every time I post… hmmm…

114 seouldout October 6, 2008 at 4:08 am

How about you guys hurry up and pick your fucking president so the rest of us don’t have to hear about it anymore.

A-f*cking-men.

But on the flipside there’s all these non ‘Mercans who are far too wrapped up in this election also. Kinda hope McCain wins just to spite them. Especially that Bono prat – he’s a total c*nt.

115 dogbertt October 6, 2008 at 9:02 am

When I look back at my life, there are something gained by living in the States, but there are something lost.

When I retire, I seriously think about going back to Korea.

Thank God for small mercies.

And, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

116 Linkd October 6, 2008 at 10:25 am

Wow.

Victory impossible in Afghanistan: senior British commander

Western forces in Afghanistan will never be able to win the war against insurgents and may need to include the Taliban in any long-term solution, Britain’s senior commander in the country says in a report.

An absolute military victory in Afghanistan is impossible, Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith told England’s Sunday Times newspaper.

What foreign forces must now come to grips with, he said, is reducing the level of insurgency so that it can be managed by Afghan forces and no longer poses a major threat.

“We may well leave with there still being a low but steady ebb of rural insurgency … I don’t think we should expect that when we go there won’t be roaming bands of armed men in this part of the world,” Carleton-Smith was quoted as saying. “That would be unrealistic and probably incredible.”

As such, striking a deal with the Taliban could be considered as a strategic option, Carleton-Smith said. It is an idea that has been repeatedly — and recently — advanced by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

A willingness on the part of the Taliban to negotiate a political deal could be a big step towards reining in the insurgency to a manageable level, Carleton-Smith said.

“If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that’s precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this. That shouldn’t make people uncomfortable,” he told the Sunday Times.

117 michael October 6, 2008 at 10:41 am

Let me give you some Straight Talk ® Linkd: you don’t talk to our enemies, you just don’t do that ;)

Seriously though, politicians won’t admit that Islamic “extremists” are simply interpreting literally the Koran’s many exhortations to subjugate unbelievers and kill them if they don’t submit, so they have no “political” goals in the traditional sense. It’s totally a “hearts and minds” operation by the West to drag these people out of their medieval mindset that’s needed here along with, obviously, cutting off the weapons flow and decreasing poverty with something beside poppy cultivation.

118 SomeguyinKorea October 6, 2008 at 10:44 am

“I am 5′10″, 165 pounds to 170 pounds depending on when it is measured, in optimal health, and by insurance company standards, the category where you get the best rate for life insurance.”

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you are fit or will live longer. BMI is not an indication of fitness. Many people who look trim have a very high body fat percentage and a low VO2 max. Many who workout regularly and have low body fat percentages have high BMI scores because of the muscles they’ve packed on.

119 emiminja October 6, 2008 at 11:59 am

god, i love this blog.

i also love the open thread post.

it’s like pandora’s box with a mix of forrest gump’s box of chocolates.

my late mom always used to tell me, ‘never talk about religion or politics with strangers.’

LOVE IT.

120 Nappunsaram October 7, 2008 at 4:52 am

So why does it even matter if Obama is Christian or not? Isn’t America supposed to allow people to practice their religion freely? I’m not questioning his faith, I’m just asking why it should matter in the first place.

Religion does not indicate morality. Case in point: Taliban.

Last I checked we criticize Iran for being a theocracy. Or is that just because they’re not Christian?

And as far as criticizing women, have at it as long as it’s stuff that should be criticized for. Criticize Palin because she’s uninformed for a job that requires you to know stuff. It used to bug the shit out of me when people criticized Hillary Clinton for having cankles(sp?) and not her policy.

121 NetizenKim October 7, 2008 at 7:19 am

Sarah Palin would probably make an excellent business executive or John McCain’s other trophy wife but she is most definitely not fit to be VP. While watching the debate, she brings to mind the phrase “amateur hour”. I also thought Joe Biden did brilliantly, considering that he’s older and a man and had to deal with all the contrived gender rules that the media pulled out of their ass about someone like him debating someone like her.

122 baduk October 7, 2008 at 9:35 am

NetizenKim,

Cindy is not a trophy wife. She is the one financing McCain’s campaign, supposed to.

She is filthy rich. Her father sold ‘em beers. Lots of beers.

Who else would put up the money? McCain is not a presidential material. A good joker with funny face.

Even a D- student with poor English skill a.k.a Dubaya Bush beat him.

123 Linkd October 7, 2008 at 9:44 am

I thought you switched from Obama to McCain, baduk. Reconsidered?

124 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 October 7, 2008 at 9:55 am

Palin as governor of Alaska passed good laws, made the state government functional and wealthy.

Obama as US Senator, merely served as a nay sayer to Bush, and passed no law of any significance or impact on American lives. Obama has one bill that is mostly credited to him, and it concerns foreign relief aid to Africa. Bush signed it. Obama never gave Bush any credit for it.

Palin vs Obama.
One has proven accomplishments, the other has a great tongue. University of Idaho versus Harvard Law School.

McCain has a long list of laws passed as US Senator that have impacted and benefited American lives.

Biden has more accomplishments as US Senator than Obama.

Obama is the best talker of them all, however, and this is all that matters to 50% of America.

In 2000, everyone said Bush would lose.
In 2004, everyone said Bush would lose.

125 user-81 October 7, 2008 at 10:10 am

While watching the debate, she brings to mind the phrase “amateur hour”.

My mom and I were talking about Palin just now. I brought up bumfromkorea’s New England Patriots analogy. My mother liked it.

126 Darth Babaganoosh October 7, 2008 at 9:19 pm

“In 2000, everyone said Bush would lose.
In 2004, everyone said Bush would lose.”

If it wasn’t for the flawed system of electoral colleges (and friends in Florida and Ohio), he would have.

127 roboseyo October 8, 2008 at 12:51 am

http://koreabeat.com/?p=2407
anybody else see this over at Korea beat? Holy cow!

128 user-81 October 8, 2008 at 3:03 am

Palin as governor of Alaska passed good laws, made the state government functional and wealthy.

What worked in Alaska could work in the rest of America. The trick is to discover oil in Detroit, the Rust Belt, Las Vegas, Wall Street…

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