Tell me if you've heard this one before: North Korea is saying that it would like, no, demands direct talks with the United States, and if it doesn't get its way, then it's going to walk away from any chance of holding the broader six-way talks, which it has boycotted for the past year. Yeah, if I were a reporter on the Korea beat, I'd just keep the file for this news story on my desktop for easy access the next time the exact same bullsh¡t goes down. Oh, and might I add that "Gun" is sort of a cool name for a negotiator for North Korea. It's like Ian Fleming's writing their press releases.
Oh, yeah, and H1N1 alert is going from orange to red. That means do whatever you would do when, say, the terror threat goes from orange to red.
- Pyongyang calls for direct talks with Washington as part of package that would include six-party talks, saying the US and North Korea "must first sit down and find a rational solution" or else DPRK will go its own way (BBC, Reuters via NYT, Yonhap, Bloomberg, UPI, AP via WaPo, Korea Times, Joongang Daily, Christian Science Monitor)
- Health Ministry says H1N1 "swine flu" alert system will be raised to "red," the highest level (Yonhap)
Education Ministry says 100 schools a day are temporarily shutting down due to outbreaks (Joongang Daily)- South Korean consumer prices in October rose 2.0%, driven by price increases in service and agricultural sectors (Yonhap)
- South Korea offers up to a 49% stake in Incheon International Airport (links here)
- Economic forecasters see South Korean recovery moderating on slower pace of growth in October over previous month (Reuters via Forbes)
- South Korean foreign exchange reserves up for an eight consecutive month in October, rising $9.94 billion and hitting a nineteen-month high of $264.19 billion (Yonhap, Reuters via CNBC)
- Samsung Electronics to provide safety check and repair for up to half a million refrigerators over unspecified but "rare" problem (Reuters via CNBC)
- Disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woosuk appeals conviction (Yonhap)
- Jessica Fletcher confesses to 268 murders in New England and New York City from 1984 to 2003; Maine State Attorney General says the aging author successfully deflected blame onto innocent suspects, putting hundreds in prison or on death row, calls her "one clever bitch" (Bangor Daily News)
You forgot to mention that the DPRK's negotiator's name is Ri Gun (or Gun Ri), although you did point out that "Gun" is a cool name for this circumstance. Is his name 건or 군? If it's the latter, i guess you can also spell his name "Goon"...which would also fit in this situation.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that you had a "tip jar" kushibo!
ReplyDeleteLook both ways before you cross the street... har har har... 설렁!
LastnameKim, I had tried to find the Hangul spelling earlier, but the usual paths (English and Korean Wikipedias and photo searches using the spellings I think might be correct), didn't produce anything (but I did find this while searching for 이건... 울랄라! (I was searching for "이건," not "이건... 울랄라!").
ReplyDeleteHowever, I just now checked English Wiki again and lo and behold, it's there: He's 리군 (ree goon).
Of course, "Gun" is a perfectly appropriate way to Romanize that, and any non-Anglophone who uses the Roman alphabet would recognize that, but Goon would also have been a cool, Ian Flemingish name, too.
Edward wrote:
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that you had a "tip jar" kushibo!
Look both ways before you cross the street... har har har... 설렁!
설렁 indeed. Yeah, I put up a tip jar just in case anybody, say, loves the Corea-versus-Korea post so much they decide to slip me a Benjamin. Or at least a Shin Saimdang.
Not many takers so far, though, so I may have to resort to quitting blogging altogether, yet again.
I do make money through AdSense, though I donated a huge chunk of that to Matt Robinson, HABO #1 (and I'm planning a post on that soon).
OMG....that link you found was awesome! Check out pic 1908...that CANNOT be a Korean girl's bum!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing it again, and I don't like it, but COMMENTS ARE HEREBY CLOSED on this post.
ReplyDeleteWhoops! Wrong post!
ReplyDeleteas I can't post on the other thread I will post here. I am not nora, nor is peter kim emily, as I am actually emily. I like your blog. I like marmot's too, however I am forever getting banned from there, I have probably had more login names there than you have been accused of socks.
ReplyDeleteOK, I didn't want to restart the Kushibo-nora thing, just wanted to get that off my chest
Okay, Inseoulent. If you wish to continue blogging here (i.e., not be banned), then you will have to do several things.
ReplyDelete1. Email me a picture of yourself (one that shows you are obviously a woman), holding up your index finger and pinky on your right hand, and (simultaneously) your index finger, middle finger, and pinky on your left hand.
2. In the email tell me who David is.
3. In the email tell me what city you are emailing me from.
If you satisfy my conditions and you agree not to do the things that got you banned before (and banned from The Marmot's Hole) you'll be allowed to continue blogging.
And I do believe you when you say you're not Peter. The writing style is just too different.
Hmm... I believe I silenced Inseoulent, though that was not my intention.
ReplyDelete