Open Thread #232

by thekorean on March 3, 2012

Jeremy Lin or Ricky Rubio? Will the debate continue?

{ 74 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Year of the Dragon March 3, 2012 at 10:11 am: “Last, Bro!”

Looks like a good weekend to get some work done.
2 Sperwer March 3, 2012 at 11:08 am: DoD is spending 750K to build a soccer field for the Gitmo detainees?!
3 Arghaeri March 3, 2012 at 12:25 pm: Part of Obama’s promise to close it down!
4 mtr25500 March 3, 2012 at 3:20 pm: hmm…
5 bumfromkorea March 3, 2012 at 4:58 pm: Starting the weekend off with a nice round of shooting in the neighborhood. Police are all over the place, and everyone’s woken up and freaking out because they apparently didn’t catch the shooter yet. And this isn’t even a bad part of the city (of Tempe, no less).

I swear, if it involved a concealed weapon at a bar, I’m marching straight down to the state capitol with a picket.
6 Jashin Densetsu March 3, 2012 at 6:32 pm: http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1844/492/Insider_Reveals_Heart-Attack_Inducement_Weapons_Probably_Cause_Of_Andrew_Breitbart_Death.html
7 Creo69 March 4, 2012 at 12:08 am: Not quite sure the CIA had anything to do with Andrew Breitbart’s death but it will certainly be a less colorful world without him. Who will be the voice for the “Right” now? Rush Limbaugh and a handful of other discredited, washed up conservatives with nothing to say? Who could have foreseen pills and cheeseburgers could be so effective at silencing the dribble coming from the “Right.”
8 gbevers March 4, 2012 at 3:55 am: Another Korean-American making a name for himself.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/03/georgia-lawmaker-looks-to-crack-down-on-sovereign-citizens/?test=latestnews
9 gbevers March 4, 2012 at 4:28 am: Under the title “New Version of ‘iPhone Killer,’ Fox News reports that Samsung plans an April launch for its new Galaxy S III. Seeing “iPhone killer” in the title, I knew the article had to be about a Samsung product. “New version?” Was the old killer not getting the job done?

I want an iPad, not an iPhone. I am thinking about buying the new iPad 3 when it comes out.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/02/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-launch-reportedly-confirmed-for-april/?intcmp=features
10 iMe March 4, 2012 at 5:15 am: Another-another Korean-American making a name for himself:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/police-identify-myung-jae-kim-as-gunman-who-took-hostage-in-buena-park.html
High five!
11 iheartblueballs March 4, 2012 at 6:54 am: Welcome to worldwide popularity, Kpop!

(p.s. you may find that global domination will invite some scrutiny and criticism of your standards and practices that differs significantly from the daily tongue baths you’re used to receiving from your toesucking pals in the domestic media. Just ignore it and keep wowing the world with the wide array of blackface and negro impersonations that fueled your rise to the top!)
12 pawikirogii 石鵝 March 4, 2012 at 7:07 am: blackface is funny. thks for the link, jerk.
13 Creo69 March 4, 2012 at 10:32 am: “Blackface” really isn’t racist when Koreans do it because (insert multitude of bullshit excuses here). The main reason being that white people are solely responsible for all foms of racisim and other social injustices.
14 R. Elgin March 4, 2012 at 10:41 am: “IHB” Kpop is an imitation of what came before it:

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkees

The Monkees was one of the first groups to be “assembled” for a media project on TV. They didn’t even play their own instruments when their songs (written by other professional writers) were recoded. The Monkees are the first real video group project that 2PM et al can call their daddy so I would say this demonstrates a kind of music business evolution in that Kpop is the refined descendant of a monkey.
15 paulhewson March 4, 2012 at 10:58 am: Damn, R. Elgin, you stole my fire!

I’ve been playing around with similar thoughts all week ever since Davy Jones died. I’ve always thought of K-Pop as “entertainers” which is all OK in and of itself. But all of my heroes are “musicians” first in foremost, and I’ve never cared from what country they originate.

In fact, the Beatles were so into recording and so not into entertaining that they retreated into the studio after the Candlestick Park gig where the crowd was just screaming and not even listening as Lennon pointed out.

And Led Zeppelin didn’t dance if you know what I mean. They rocked!!! Like Jimmy Page struttin’ across the stage, baby!!!

And in other news, do you know that David Bowie changed his name because of a monkey???
16 nayaCasey March 4, 2012 at 11:38 am: The next potential Harvard NBAer: Keith Wright, 6’8″ 240 lb forward.

“Keith Wright’s looking to follow former teammate Jeremy Lin into the NBA, and the league apparently thinks he has a shot. He was one of 64 players to be invited to the Portsmouth Invitational, the annual showcase that takes place every April. It’s especially nice for Wright, who grew up in Suffolk, Va., half an hour away from where the event takes place.”
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2012-ncaab-had
17 Q March 4, 2012 at 11:39 am: “A great aim of philanthropy should be to keep the ruling races of the world as pure and wise as possible, for it is only through them that the others can be made prosperous and happy.” — Horsman, Race and Manifest Destiny, p279.
18 Q March 4, 2012 at 11:45 am: Hi Mr. Marmot,

Please delete my id if you intend to keep putting me under moderation.
19 Jashin Densetsu March 4, 2012 at 11:56 am: Sheriff Arpaio: Obama birth certificate a ‘forgery’ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/1/sheriff-arpaio-obama-birth-certificate-forgery/

“Armed with a new 10-page report he commissioned, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday he suspects the birth certificate President Obama released last year is a “computer-generated forgery” — and also raised questions about the authenticity of the president’s selective service registration card.”

““Based on all of the evidence presented and investigated, I cannot in good faith report to you that these documents are authentic,” Sheriff Arpaio said. “My investigators believe that the long-form birth certificate was manufactured electronically and that it did not originate in paper format as claimed by the White House.””
20 Jashin Densetsu March 4, 2012 at 12:13 pm: Breitbart’s Last Contact Was With Sheriff Joe Arpaio http://www.infowars.com/jerome-corsi-breitbarts-last-contact-was-with-sheriff-joe-arpaio/
21 Q March 4, 2012 at 12:59 pm: Mr. Marmot, Korea mockers/haters perpetuate at this blog. You do not place them under moderation. Is it because they have good English proficiency or they are your brethren American or English?

I’ve tried to write correct English, minimize my own words, and quote as much as possible. How much splendid English should I write? Your friends here enjoy freedom of mocking Korea and do whatever they feel like to say about Korea. I do not understand your policy. It is because I am a Korean? It seems unfair.
22 aaronm March 4, 2012 at 2:59 pm: Pawi,

So is dressing up in a hanbok, doing ‘chinkface’ and screamin like a 15-yo comfort girl gettin a train pulled on her by Nippon’s finest. Not really, but just sayin.
23 jefferyhodges March 4, 2012 at 3:22 pm: Kevin Kim posted a moving tribute to the blessed memory of The Sea Monkees’ Davy Jones.

Jeffery Hodges

* * *
24 ccmontgom March 4, 2012 at 3:39 pm: LOL..

I’m pretty sure Breitbart’s last ‘contact’ was with the ground.. his big swollen head bouncing onto it…
25 bballi bballi Paradise March 4, 2012 at 8:15 pm: @ 16
seriously? an undersized PF who is ranked 56th out of seniors. So when including the other three years, and internationals I couldn’t even begin to speculate his overall ranking for this year’s draft. Which, I’ve been completely focused on since my Raptors are their usual abysmal selves….lottery time!
The 2 rounds of drafting will pass by without this guys name being called…his only shot at professional ball would be a league as weak as Korea’s.
26 Jieun K March 4, 2012 at 9:48 pm: Now, veering the thread into a pulpy direction, what with a sudden, mysterious death of a political commentator… Do we have any pulp fiction buff in the house?

City Room, a regional blog of the NYT, held a 2012 New York Pulp Fiction Contest last week, which invited its readers to construct a “hypothetical opening” up to 150 words based on the cover art of an actual novel published in 1956.

28 finalists out of 500+ entries. Help pick the winner.
27 Sperwer March 4, 2012 at 9:52 pm: Damn, I lived just down the street from that subway stop for 15 years.
28 Jieun K March 4, 2012 at 9:57 pm: Sperwer, as a former resident, you’re more than qualified to be the judge. My pick is currently the strongest contender for the prize.
29 jk6411 March 4, 2012 at 10:35 pm: #19,

Hmm, I’m guessing that you’re not an Asian as your photo suggests?
30 hamel March 4, 2012 at 11:44 pm: Robert might like this article about why Australian senator Mark Arbib decided to quit politics just after Kevin Rudd’s failed challenge for leadership of the Australian Labor Party (and with it the Prime Ministership). It seems to have quite a bit to do with Wikileaks and Arbib’s ties to US intelligence. Apparently, the US embassy in Canberra knew of the mounting coup against former PM Rudd well before 24 June 2010, thanks to Arbib. The Australian public was, by and large, not so well informed.
31 jkitchstk March 4, 2012 at 11:54 pm: Rush Limbaugh would fit in S. Korea. He doesn’t like condoms and Rick Santorum(Rep. Pres. candidate) supports him because he doesn’t believe in sex for pleasure.
Rush called a college student a slut and prostitute for wanting a free condom through health insurance(since the Gov. would be “paying her for sex”). It’s blocked on Youtube for language.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73546.html
32 jkitchstk March 5, 2012 at 12:56 am: Koreans are the Asian Jews says ‘Lips’ to ‘Warren’(who is lazy and paying Lips to write his Great Gatsby homework) on Showtimes ‘Shameless’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2EXT7GM1q4

First time I saw ‘Warren’ was in episode # 6 in the scene above. The above statement isn’t racist because it’s fact says ‘Lips.’
33 Sterling Copper March 5, 2012 at 2:20 am: @29
Ha! If Koreans were “Asian Jews” as suggested, that Korean kid would be selling his essays, not buying them.
34 thekorean March 5, 2012 at 6:58 am: Good lord, Rajon Rondo — 18 points, 20 assists, 17 rebounds. I am so sorry I ever said anything bad about you.
35 feld_dog March 5, 2012 at 10:51 am: best analysis yet on NK’s transition to Kim Jong-eun at the NYTimes yesterday:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/opinion/sunday/a-north-korean-corleone.html?scp=1&sq=corleone&st=cse
36 Sperwer March 5, 2012 at 11:04 am: The “best” leaves a lot to be desired.
37 깊은 구멍 속에 March 5, 2012 at 11:12 am: How about DWill’s 57?
38 iheartblueballs March 5, 2012 at 12:39 pm: It’s okay to let go Joel. Deron is gone and he’s never coming back.

Lin definitely got Rondoed today. First half he was a no-show. As soon as he subbed out and Baron came in, the Knicks went on a run. In fact, for the game, Lin was a -9 and Baron a +10 in +/-. Each had 6 turnovers, and Lin shot poorly and forced several floaters that turned into airballs in OT.

A couple timely baskets at the end of the 4th (including a clutch 3) from Lin turned a horrendous game into a merely bad one. Rondo consistently blew past him for buckets and assists, and muscled by him in several key spots to get offensive rebounds and score or keep the possession alive. When the opposing PG goes for a historic 18/17/20, it’s pretty clear the D was non-existent at best.

Overall, if you’ve got stock in Lin being an All-Star, your position took another hefty loss today. A couple more of these and he’ll likely be down to a 25-30 min timeshare with Baron.
39 깊은 구멍 속에 March 5, 2012 at 1:17 pm: Way to kick a man while he’s down. I know Deron will never be back–nor are we likely to see anyone that talented in a small market like SLC in the near future (short of us getting first or second pick in the draft sometime soon). That doesn’t mean I don’t like to imagine him still in a Jazz jersey when he goes off for 57 or 38–slamming linsansity to a screeching halt.

It’s unfortunate, but as awesome as Deron is, it was maybe the smartest thing the Jazz have ever done getting rid of him a season before he walked away and left us with nothing. Though watching the Jazz play right now I
kind of feel like we have nothing anyway. That’s why I watch OKC games instead. I can watch enjoyable basketball exploits without being emotionally vested in the outcome of the game. Durant and Westbrook are sick.
40 doctoroh March 5, 2012 at 3:16 pm: Just out of curiosity, are the lyrics from any K-Pop rap, hip-hop or what it is called, ever pornographic or violent to a remote degree of what they are in English songs? If so, could someone name a source and maybe post a link? The reason is, I rather doubt it, and am trying to make a point amongst some former Korea ex-pats residing here.
41 hamel March 5, 2012 at 4:09 pm: doctoroh:
I am relying on my wife’s testimony here – JYP (Park Jin-yeong) made a name for himself back in the 1990s by being (among) the first to sing openly and frankly about sexual things/feelings.
42 pawikirogii 石鵝 March 5, 2012 at 5:01 pm: about 9 months ago, i discovered a youtube page of hungarian pop
music. at first, i wasn’t interested because hungary is a small country
with just 12 million hungarian speakers. i assumed the music
would be unsophisticated so i decided to go somewhere
else, but then, something caught my eye; i noticed that many of the
songs had over a million to two million hits. this told me that
perhaps people in hungary were actually interested in hearing their
own language to music. i decided to look around and liked what i discovered.the music is catchy and though their music videos look cheap, they still do a decent job considering the lack of funding.

one singer i noticed seemed to be very prolific and popular. his nme is
‘sp’. watching his videos i noticed something odd. i noticed there was
always an asian guy as one of the back-up dancers. i thought that was odd
because you wouldn’t think you would see an asian guy in a hungarian
music video. that made me do some research. apparently, the guy is
vietnamese and is actually quite a successful singer himself. he goes by
the name ‘duki’ and he says k-pop is a major influence on him. ‘sp’ helped
him get his start. it’s kind of funny; i would think hungarians would be
hostile to asians but that doesn’t appear to be the case because there seems
to be a quite a few asians in their music market. for example, there is another popular asian singer by the name of ‘hien’. her music is catchy. follow the link below to see for yourself.

anyway, i find all this surprising because according to the yahoos here,
ain’t no way an asian can be successful at singing to a white audience.
in fact, ‘someguy’ told us: ‘ain’t never gonna happen.’ well, it has happened!
here’s a link to duki who does us aisan guys proud!!!! long live duki!!!

duki:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubf3MGzQB_Q

hien:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBaM7L2qKuE
43 gbnhj March 5, 2012 at 5:05 pm: Back in 2008, Rain’s single ‘Rainism’ (from his album by the same name) was deemed inappropriate for persons under 19 by The Commission of Youth Protection, due to its description of Rain’s ‘magic stick’.
44 aaronm March 5, 2012 at 5:49 pm: Pawi,

I’ll teach you some Hungarian to remember for the rest of your worthless, black-face-lovin existence: lofasz a seggedbe!
45 robert neff March 5, 2012 at 6:03 pm: Although Pawi and I have had our issues I will say this – and I am amazed I am writing it – I actually enjoy Big Bang’s Blue. I like the lyrics, the music and even the video. Not sure I am into the pink hair and stuff but…..

I think Eatyourkimchi did a nice bit on it-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI78HAzhNvI
46 nayaCasey March 5, 2012 at 6:05 pm: thekorean #31, Rondo’s box score was so good that it seemed there must have been a typo somewhere…as in, maybe 7 rebounds instead of 17. Seems with Lin that lots of records will be broken–both by him and the people he is defending.

iheartblueballs #35, ain’t it amazing how Lin has remained the most watched and analyzed player–both by his fans and detractors. Rondo just had an historic game, but few people are going to check out what he does next, whereas people all around the world are tracking Lin.
47 aaronm March 5, 2012 at 6:27 pm: Rightey-oh, wanna talk music? For my 40th in May my wife bought me tickets to see Morrissey – now that’s classy, polished popular music. And, at least he’s honest about his gayness and doesn’t just flaunt it as some prop to sell tunes to 12-yo girls. Now to find me a cardigan, national health specs, hearing aids and a bunch of daffodils!
48 Year of the Dragon March 5, 2012 at 8:59 pm: China will increase military spending this year by 11.2 per cent, a move likely to fuel world concerns and increase regional tensions.

The defence budget will rise to 670.27 billion yuan ($100 billion), Li Zhaoxing, a spokesman for the national parliament, said, citing a budget report submitted to the country’s legislature.

The figure marks a slowdown from last year when spending rose by 12.7 per cent but is still likely to fuel worries over China’s growing assertiveness in the region and push its neighbours to forge closer ties with the US.
49 dogbertt March 6, 2012 at 12:06 am: i wasn’t interested because hungary is a small country
with just 12 million hungarian speakers. i assumed the music
would be unsophisticated

This is a common logical fallacy shared by many Koreans.

i would think hungarians would be
hostile to asians

Along with groundless assumptions of racism.

anyway, i find all this surprising because according to the yahoos here,
ain’t no way an asian can be successful at singing to a white audience.

Google “Victor Tsoi”, or even “Anita Tsoi” for that matter, numbnuts.
50 iMe March 6, 2012 at 2:28 am: Rondo is definitely a good player but he benefits tremendously from playing with the New Big Three. If Rondo was playing for the Wizards, he’d never average 10 apg like he routinely does with the C’s. Rondo is also a terrible shooter who disappears down the stretch because he has no confidence in his shot and can’t shoot free throws. Ainge was right to try to trade him for Chris Paul and Ainge would be wise to try to get the most for him while Rondo’s value is high.
51 jefferyhodges March 6, 2012 at 3:45 am: “i would think hungarians would be hostile to asians”

Despite centuries of intermixing, Hungarians trace their roots – cultural, linguistic, ethnic – to Asia. Recall Atilla the Hun? I had a Hungarian student when I taught in Germany, and she was very interested in her Asian roots, though little is actually known. They might therefore be more open to Asians, though I’m mostly guessing.

Jeffery Hodges

* * *
52 setnaffa March 6, 2012 at 4:12 am: Seen at the News Stand: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/first_let_kill_all_the_animals_DnyhE723tSo64mkmmM9SUN
53 Robert Koehler March 6, 2012 at 8:23 am: Sorry, Q, didn’t see your comments in moderation.
54 robert neff March 6, 2012 at 10:35 am: This is really tragic – it defies all understanding…..

An 11-year-old Afghan boy who was sold to another family when he was 8 years old. Watch the entire video….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6J5rTZdZk&feature=relmfu
55 Q March 6, 2012 at 12:53 pm: It is really sad child sex trafficking is happening in the United States:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsEmKDqDt4
56 doctoroh March 6, 2012 at 1:05 pm: Thank you for your input no. 41, 42 and 43. It also occurred to me that there might be this kind of music produced outside of Korea, where the likelihood of censorship is considerably less. Especially if the music is in Korean. Does anyone know anything about this? Pawi?
57 pawikirogii 石鵝 March 6, 2012 at 7:32 pm: i have always heard that hungarian is likely an asiatic language, but until yesterday, i really never looked into it. the wiki page says that hungarian can be directly linked to a language called mansi. mansi is spoken in siberia by an asiatic people. while the article points out the relationship between the two languages,it strangely omits any comarative sentence examples opting instead for comparisons with langauges that are spoken by other europeans. this made me suspicious; you say an asiatic language is most like hungarian but then you show examples to show a relationship with other european languages like finnish? i decided to look at the wiki page for mansi. take a look at these sentences in mansi and hungarian (the mansi is using hungarian wrtiting since it’s usually written in cyrillic):

Húrem né vitnel húlpel husz húl púgi
Három nő a vízből hálóval húsz halat fog.
Three women are catching twenty fish with a net from the water.

Húrem-szát-husz hulah-szam ampem viten óli
Háromszázhúsz hollószemű ebem vízen él.
The three hundred and twenty dogs of mine with raven eyes live on water.

Lú lásal mini tó szélen
Ló lassan megy a tó szélén.
A horse is slowly walking on the shore of the lake.

amazing! anyway, wherever hungarian came from, it sounds just awesome!
58 Jieun K March 6, 2012 at 11:13 pm: As the wind of the Arab Spring continues to blow across the land of the Islam, a Saudi-Arabian-born social anthropologist dissects why there was no Saudi Spring:

By intervening [in the Bahraini uprising], the Saudis hoped not only to protect their Bahraini ally, but to split their internal opposition using sectarian politics. . . . The Saudi regime proved not only to its subjects, but also to Western governments, a determination to crush protest and expel Iranian and Shia influence from the peninsula.

The message to President Obama was to think twice before supporting democracy and human rights in the Arabian Peninsula. The message to Saudis was that critics would be tarred as traitors to the nation and enemies of the faith.

Policy strategists vis-à-vis Pyongyang and Beijing may as well take a cue.
59 DLBarch March 7, 2012 at 5:40 am: Do any of the learned attorneys on MH (or any non-attorneys, for that matter) know of any good, detailed reporting on the failed Cho Yong-hwan nomination to the Constitutional Court beyond the crap reporting put out by Yonhap over the last few weeks?

Sean Hayes has a long piece over on his Korean Law Blog that manages to not name either Cho or his law firm (it’s Horizon), but focuses more on the current problems with the vacancy on the nine-member Court itself than on the history of the failed nomination.

Just curious. Thanks in advance.

DLB
60 thekorean March 7, 2012 at 5:59 am: I have been following it, but I can’t point to a single report…
61 DLBarch March 7, 2012 at 6:17 am: Yeah, I understand Cho was a problematic nominee, and certainly his comments about the Cheonnan sinking pissed off a lot of people — on the left and right, but he’s also a seasoned, internationally respected litigator and is well-known in international arbitration circles, so to conclude that he’s somehow unqualified seems to me a stretch and a result of gamesmanship and sharp practice by the GNP/NFP.

I also can’t help but wonder whether the status-conscious Korean Bar Association played a behind-the-scenes role in preventing an attorney from the second-tier Horizon law firm from gaining such a prestigious judgeship. That would seem petty, but would be in keeping with the KBA’s obsession with status.

DLB
62 thekorean March 7, 2012 at 6:22 am: I think this is total BS. Out of the nine CC justices, three are nominated by the National Assembly. Out of those three, two are picked by the majority party and one is picked by the minority. This is about as fair as it gets, and no National Assembly ever blocked a CC justice nomination this way.

More than anything, Korean government needs to develop constitutional traditions and habits. Each branch of the government, and each component within each branch, needs to respect the traditional boundaries of their power. This is harmful for a constitutional democracy.
63 DLBarch March 7, 2012 at 7:16 am: It’s ironic that Cho, who did his JAG service in the Korean Navy, had his nomination torpedoed based on his comments involving the Cheonan, rather than, say, his admitted falsification of residency records for the purpose of land speculation and for the benefit of his children’s education. Had the GNP focused on these latter peccadilloes, its obstructionism would at least have had the patina of legitimacy.

But by focusing on Cho’s hedging comments regarding the Cheonan, in which he actually accepted the government’s version of events. the GNP/NFP showed that its less interested in judicial rectitude than in playing politics with the country’s highest Court.

What a disgrace. Cho should be confirmed. After all, it’s not as if any number of 2MB officeholders haven’t also falsified residency records for exactly the same reasons.

Of course, what we’re also seeing is the GOP-ification of the GNP/NFP. Presidential impeachments, judicial obstructionism, the hijacking of legislation by extra-legislative measures…one by one, the informal norms of politics that allow institutions to function normally are being politicized into dysfunction.

DLB
64 jkitchstk March 7, 2012 at 7:33 am: # 8 gbevers,
“Another Korean-American making a name for himself.”

This Korean man(Charles J. Ahn 26) tops the current chart.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-02-24/news/31097289_1_girlfriend-face-murder-charges-new-jersey
He ran over his 25 year old ex-girlfriend(Aena Hong) repeatedly and now he’s out on bail despite the Port Authority believing that Ann intended to board a plane with passport and large sum of cash in pocket. Expect to see another Korean murderer teaching English at your local hagwon in S. Korean.
UPDATE:
http://gothamist.com/2012/02/21/hit-and-run_driver_kills_woman_in_n.php
“A bank manager who overheard the accident said, “I heard the start and stop of tires spinning it happened four or five times. I heard the sound of a tire squealing and then stop, tire squealing and then stop. I heard someone crying and screaming…. When I got up from my desk, I heard people screaming I saw the body it was horrific. … I haven’t seen anything like that since I was overseas in combat in Iraq.”

Why do they let accused murderers out on bail?
65 thekorean March 7, 2012 at 7:47 am: It’s ironic that Cho, who did his JAG service in the Korean Navy, had his nomination torpedoed based on his comments involving the Cheonan . . .

I see what you did there.
66 jkitchstk March 7, 2012 at 8:28 am: # 64 Correction,
He’s not out on bail but can post bail at 3 million, I wonder if his “family in Korea” has the money?
67 jkitchstk March 7, 2012 at 11:35 am: One reason Lin won’t continue to do much is because his teammate Amare Stoudemire is done, he has lost a step(which is why the Suns/Steve Kerr didn’t sign him to the 5 year contract Amare wanted) and can’t score on the pick-n-roll much anymore. So, I’ll take Ricky Rubio!
Those who have microfracture surgery and chronic knee problems don’t have long careers.
68 nayaCasey March 8, 2012 at 3:32 pm: Random thought:
* when Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and other black leaders argue that corporations need to give money and jobs, it is called a “shakedown.”
* when white academics, authors, activists and politicians argue that companies need to give money and jobs, it is called “corporate social responsibility.”
69 Brendon Carr March 8, 2012 at 5:13 pm: Not by me. I still call it “shakedown”. Maybe “boondoggle” if I’m feeling generous.
70 gbnhj March 8, 2012 at 8:03 pm: Not by me either. I think the people you mentioned – ‘Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and other black leaders’ and ‘white academics, authors, activists and politicians’ – might call it that, though.
71 Brendon Carr March 8, 2012 at 8:49 pm: Hot news for Marmot’s Hole readers who own a Kindle with Special Offers from Amazon.com: Today’s special offer is a choice of one of 50 tomes in history and biography for just US$1.00, including the gripping Black Hawk Down, World War II survival and evasion story We Die Alone, but also B. R. Myers’ The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters. This is essential reading for any Koreanist. Just a dollar?! Good grief!

Today’s offer expires at midnight, March 8. My experience has been “midnight, March 8″ would mean Eastern Standard Time, so you’ve got some time yet even here in Korea, but don’t dawdle.

The Kindle with Special Offers is only sold in the United States, for some reason, but if you pick one up in the States and take it back to Korea, the special offers still work. I saved 20% off a MacBook Air last fall (11.6″ 4GB i5 w/ 128GB SSD for $900), and now this excellent Myers book basically for free. Highly recommended.

Expats in Korea should own a Kindle, if only to avoid the crushing costs of books at the Kyobo Bookstore, where every volume includes shipping, an extortionate exchange rate, Value-Added Tax, and other markups. By comparison, every Kindle title is sold at a discount. Myers’ book is regularly just $9.99 on Kindle. Take out the cost of your time and money to get to the bookstore and it’s a huge win for Kindle if you read just a few books a year.
72 CactusMcHarris March 8, 2012 at 11:14 pm: #71,

Email me if you need me to get some paper books for you – there’s this new one out – ’101 Ways Democrats are Better People’ – that I can get autographed for you.

Perhaps I haven’t tried it enough, but I don’t find reading a book electronically to be relaxing whatsoever, maybe because I associate ‘puter reading with work (that’s when I’m not commenting here).
73 JW March 10, 2012 at 2:28 am: Breaking News

Jeremy Lin is actually Korean. He’s just been faking Chinese in order to appeal to a broader market. Harvard graduate indeed.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/professional/msg-makes-right-move-jumping-on-linsanity
74 gbnhj March 10, 2012 at 6:51 am: JW, that’s hilarious – I love how he talks about NY’s Korean community and then says ‘they love their guy’.

CactusMcHarris, I love reading ebooks, but in the end, they won’t replace the bookcase in my study. Real books have an aesthetic appeal that ebooks can’t even approach, and while collecting books is fun, collecting epub files just ain’t the same. But, for price, portability, and integration with other resources, ebooks are great. I love them both.