hamilton

Happy Birthday!

Have a great birthday!

Er... that may or may not be good. Imagine a billion-plus people living the American dream - the planet would implode. I was referring more to political goals rather than the citizens' lifestyles. Usually the two nations have differing goals on Asian geopolitics, but in this case neither nation is interested in having a nuclear-armed North Korea. Of course, having said that, I don't know that there is really too much that either party can do about it without either escalating the conflict militarily or causing further pain and suffering to the already impoverished ordinary people of North Korea through increased economic sanctions.

Japan is definitely going to use this as an excuse to remilitarize. They were moving in that direction anyway, but now they have a much better excuse for doing so. More comforting is the idea that North Korea's nuclear testing is actually bringing China and the US closer to each other.

Spelling correct! Love received and returned. Sunghee says hello to everyone in Hamilton and Ottawa!

And her last album was particularly excellent, too!

I know this probably sounds a little strange, but the nuclear situation in North Korea doesn't really have much of a *direct* effect on me or any other average person in South Korea. I guess there are a number of different reasons for this. First, although the nuclear bomb itself is new, the idea of a potential attack from North Korea is not. For over fifty years, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of conventional warheads aimed directly at significant targets in South Korea - most of them here in Seoul. The city itself is only about fifty kilometres from the DMZ, so it would be the first place to be attacked in the case of war. Because the carnage here would be unbelievable in any case, the development of the nuclear bomb doesn't really change anything. Secondly, most people - myself included - believe that North Korea's main aim in developing the nuclear bomb is deterrence - much like the hundreds of conventional missiles pointed this way. Kim Jong-Il isn't stupid. Any launch of a nuclear bomb would be accompanied by pretty much every nation you can think of coming over here and kicking his ass. And while that wouldn't be an easy matter itself, it would definitely be the end of the line for him and his family, as well as any geopolitical influence he might have gained through developing the technology in the first place. Third, if North Korea *did* launch a nuclear weapon, it is unlikely that it would be aimed at Seoul anyway. A far more likely target would be Tokyo or some other Japanese city. Or, if they had the technology, they would try to hit Los Angeles or some other city on the American West coast. The only way the target would be likely to change to Seoul would be if the US deployed nuclear warheads here in South Korea, and I don't think they would do that. Fourth, there is no driving issue currently which might incite North Korea to start a war anyway. Things have been *much* more tense during other situations in the past, such as the time the North Koreans captured a couple of American servicemen who were spying and held on to them for a significant period of time. None of these situations, as tense as they were, caused a military reaction. Nothing is impossible, but war seems unlikely, as - unlike Iraq - there is no particular advantage for America to occupy North Korea. I think that the far greater concern is that North Korea will sell or trade the technology to some other nation or terrorist organization which *would* use it. The more immediate concern here is what kind of effect this sort of news will have on the economy and therefore the currency. If foreign investors get cold feet and start pulling their money out en masse, there could be significant problems for the Korean economy, which would in turn cause significant problems for the entire Asian economy. No one here wants to return to the situation that occured last decade when the IMF had to bail out the Korean economy. I realize some of these points seem to contradict each other a little, but that pretty much sums up the nation's general attitude right about now.

Hooooray for Bobby Weir!

Did I miss the part where North Korea became part of the U.S.? I don't understand what connection you're trying to create between what the American Constitution has to say regarding what private American citizens can do in America, and what the a completely different country should be able to do regarding the creation of weapons of mass destruction. I know you're trying to blame the Americans for making North Korea feel like it has to develop this technology, but let's not forget that the U.S. didn't just randomly choose North Korea out of a hat. Maybe North Korea would find it easier to feed their people if it didn't spend the vast majority of its money on maintaining the world's fifth-largest standing army, and on creating monumnets to its megalomaniac god-president.

Did you sing all of the Elvish-language songs, or did you just say, "Now here comes twelve pages of verse in a made-up language that Daddy is just going to skip over"?

I don't think he's talking to you anyway.

How about this, dingleberry? I don't know if I'm a fan of Bob Rae or not, but I think that the flak that has been thrown his way isn't necessarily deserved. People like to focus on the leader rather than the party - and the fact is that the NDP was *unready* to govern in Ontario when they were elected. Electing the NDP in Ontario was more about giving the finger to to the Conservatives and the Liberals than it was about electing the NDP. If Bob Rae is elected leader of the Liberal Party, I don't think he will necessarily govern the same way that he did with the NDP in Ontario. People like to forget that economic change doesn't happen overnight, and that the current government is rarely entirely to blame and/or credit for the current economic situation. Should I have used 37 sentences to express my opinion, or is this enough?

Yeah' date=' sorry, I should be more like you Silverback. Limit my posts to Linking to an article or a picture, and only saying what I think in a sentance or two. That way I'd have far less to edit, and like yourself, I'd never look like an idiot. Boy is my face red. [/quote'] You mispelled "sentance", too.

I do think that Harper should shut his yap about what leadership candidates are saying until after one of them is chosen, though. If he wants to go back and quote Ignatieff during an election campaign, that's fine. But I don't see the point of jumping into the fray at this point, unless he's trying to influence who will be chosen as leader of the Liberal Party - which he shouldn't be doing in the first place. And when will you people learn that "irregardless" is not a word? It's either "regardless" or "irrespective". Grrrrr......

Also very true.

Yes!

You guys are all a bunch of sissies. It's autumn... in Canada... where we get snow every year.

Good luck!

The irony is that everyone seems to believe that "improv" is what we hear when we listen to jambands. Most people would run screaming from the room if they heard a *real* improv artist, like John Zorn or someone like that.

? Mine does. For the life of me, I can't figure out the appeal of Jack Johnson.

Well, with Gentle Monkey around anything is possible, isn't it?

They could also focus on actually improving the level of democracy in their own countries.

I was there! Probably with MarcO and possibly Cyberhippie, but I can't quite recall.

Jonathan Richman, I, Jonathan

I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar - Jonathan Richman Well I was dancing at a night club one Friday night And that night club bar was a little uptight Yeah, I was dancing all alone a little self conscious When some kids came up and said, "for dancing come with us" And soon I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh Well I was dancing in the lesbian bar In the industrial zone I was dancing with my friends And dancing alone Well the first bar things were alright But in this bar, things were Friday night In the first bar things were just alright This bar things were outta sight and I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh Well I was dancing in the lesbian bar Way downtown I was there to check the scene And hang around Well the first bar things were stop and stare But in this bar things were laissez faire In the first bar things were stop and stare In this bar things were lassez faire and I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh In the first bar folks were drinking sips But in this bar they could shake their hips, In the first bar they were drinking sips In this bar they could shake their hips and I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh Well in the first bar, things were okay But in this bar things were more my way In the first bar things were just okay in this bar things were done my way and I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh Well in the first bar things were controlled But in this bar things were rock and roll In the first bar things were so controlled In this bar things were way way bold and I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh I was dancing in a lesbian bar oh oh oh