Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!

uhh... Really?? Send Condolences to NK for kji's Death?

I had to come on to write this. I came across this article on KyungHyang news's opinion page. The idiots at KyungHyang news called on Korean government to send condolences to North Korea. (Sorry, the source is in Korean.) Source Really?? Send condolences to a man who killed millions of people and put millions in a gulag? Please, I hope the editorial board over at KyungHyang learns some common sense, or perhaps moral sense.


***Update***

According to LAT, given the opportunity, Korean government will allow South Koreans with ties to North Korea to pay a visit, but no official delegations will travel to North Korea to pay respects. I'm not quite sure what they mean by "South Koreans with ties." Do they mean South Koreans who have families in the north? Does this mean Japan will also allow North Koreans in Japan (pro-North Zainichi) to travel to North Korea to pay respects? I will wait for more update on this.

kim jong-il DEAD

North Korea's Dear Leader died on December 17, 2011 according to KCNA, North Korea's news network.

kim jong il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, passed away from a great mental and physical strain at 08:30 December 17, 2011, on train during a field guidance tour.

I'm sure this news is going around everywhere right now and I'm sure everybody has been keeping up with it. There are a lot of thoughts going on around this by many experts in Korean peninsula. I think I will need more time to let this situation unfold further before I can say anything or predict what I think is going to happen with Korean peninsula.

In the meantime, I decided to go to different news sources and capture front page headlines regarding the death of kim jong il.

 - Here is one by New York Times

- Los Angeles Times

- Reuters

- CNN

 - BBC World

 - Telegraph

 - Aljazeera

 - Yonhap News Korea (The South)

 - The Korea Times

 - And finally... Korean Central News Agency (The North)

 - 

Gunnie Weekly (Week of Dec. 5)

- I guess this news has been big all over Korean blogs or expat blogs. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) is set to phase out native English teachers in public schools by 2014. (source here and here) If this deal does happen, I'm going to assume that there will be more native English teachers applying for a position at private English hagwons in Korea. Will this mean we are going to see less Gyopo (Korean-American) gangsters at private hagwons with fake degrees??? I hope so. (another source)

- Through the eyes of Zhu Feng, his view of North Korea. (TheInterpreter) I recommend reading this article if you wanted to know what China's view of North Korea is.

- This is a good news for me. Korean national football team coach, Cho Kwang-rae is fired. I never liked the guy and his style of coach. It felt like Korea's football went back to the 80s.

- This news is little old, but as I mentioned before, KORUS FTA passed in Korea after some fight and some idiot threw a tear gas during the parliamentary session. (source) But do you know what? I'm not embarrassed at all about it. This is how we get things done in Korea. Hell yeah~

- The idiot who threw a tear gas during the parliamentary session for KORUS FTA (his name is Kim Sun-dong btw), became a national hero AND he escaped punishment.

- For your pleasure of learning about Korea's past, Robert Neff, one of my favorite contributing writer at KoreaTimes wrote some interesting columns about Korea's past. You can read it here and here.

EBS Experiment

Found this clip on youtube. EBS or Educational Broadcasting System (http://www.ebs.co.kr/index.jsp) is the educational television in South Korea. They do a little experiment on how Koreans are willing to help out foreigners depending on their skin color.

Gunnie Weekly (Week of Nov. 14)

Mixed News for the week of November 14, 2011


- Ahn Cheol-Soo, a doctor and an entrepreneur, announced that he is going to donate nearly half of his company's share 150 billion KRW (or $133 million) to a new charity. 

In making the announcement, Mr. Ahn said the money would be used to help educate the children of poor families, though he didn’t say if he would give the money to an existing charity or set up a new one.

Mr. Ahn and others civic activists have criticized leaders of South Korea’s big companies for being stingy about their charitable giving. (source)(source)

 Now this is not a good news for Korean politicians, especially the conservatives. Mr. Ahn is very popular among younger voters in their 20s and 30s and during Seoul's mayoral election last month, he declared a full support for progressive candidate Park Won-Soon. IF Mr. Ahn declares that he is going to run for presidency next year, it is highly likely that he will run with the progressives rather than conservatives. This means conservatives, who are not very popular among young voters, will need to campaign harder. However, everything is still up in the air and nothing is sure. 


Hmm... What will Mr. Ahn do????

- This week, Brad Pitt visited Korea to promote his new movie "Moneyball" 


- Korean government decided to build barracks for U.S. troops (or just station them there) on Baengyeong Island which is next to Yeongpyong Island, the island that was shelled by the Norks last year.

The South's military will start building the new barracks, which can accommodate some 160 soldiers, from next year on Baengnyeong Island and construction will be completed by 2013, the source said on the condition of anonymity. 

"As part of efforts to strengthen defense on the Yellow Sea islands, the new barracks will be used by U.S. troops during joint military drills or in case of emergency," the source said.

 I don't know whose idea this is, but I want to see what China and Norks have to say about this.

- Back in WWII, on the beach of Normandy, there were 4 Korean POWs who fought in German uniform.

These soldiers were conscripted into the Japanese Army in 1938. In battle against the Soviets in Nomonhan they were captured and turned into POW’s…for a while, the Russians then conscripted them into the Soviet army to fight the Nazi’s. In 1943 they were captured, most likely in the battle of Kharkov, where they were in turn, conscripted into the Nazi army as laborers.

They ended up working on the Atlantic wall defenses, and ultimately were captured by the Allies. Kyoungjong Yang, and the other three ‘soldiers’ spent the rest of the war in a British POW camp. He ultimately moved to0 the USA, became a citizen, living near Northwestern University (just north of Chicago). (source)(source)(source)

-  I believe that Kang Je-Gyu's new film, My Way is based on the story above. I can't wait till this movie comes out.

Quietest Football Match I Will Probably Ever Watch.

Tonight (November 14, 2011) 11:00 AM PST, there will be a football (soccer) match between North Korea and Japan. The reason why I'm so excited to watch this game is because (i) the venue is Kim Il-Sung Stadium in Pyongyang; (ii) there is no diplomatic ties between North Korea and Japan; and (iii) this will be the quietest football match I will ever watch.

The [Japanese] fans have been warned to behave: No sightseeing, no straying from the group. No drums, speakers, banners or Japanese flags, according to Nishitetsu Travel, which is organizing the three-day, $3,740 tour for the Japanese Football Association. 

"In principle, (North Korea) is a country where we have travel restrictions, and we are only allowing this trip as an exception," Osamu Fujimura, Japan's chief cabinet spokesman, said Friday in Tokyo. "Therefore, we would like the visitors to refrain from any activity other than watching the game while in (North Korea)."

The last time these two teams played each other in North Korea was back in 1989 and North Korea won 2 - 0. Since then, North Korea-Japan relationship has deteriorated due to belligerent act of North Korean government. North Korean government abducted Japanese citizens during 1970s and 1980s. Through 1990s and 2000, Japanese government pressed North Korea to return its citizens who were abducted by North Korea. North Korea did return some of its citizens in 2002, however, North Korea failed to offer adequate explanations regarding the circumstance of other abductees and insisted that the issue has been resolved, while the Japanese government considered its explanation unacceptable. (source) Then North Korea began testing missiles that had the capability to reach Japan, and they test fired ballistic missiles into the East Sea. In response, Japan joined its allies, U.S. and South Korea, imposing sanctions.

Despite North Korea's past actions, it seems to me that North Korean government is trying to improve ties with its neighboring states. Just last month, North Korean government allowed Japanese medical team to travel to North Korea to treat the nuclear victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Player to watch:
Jong Tae-se: He currently plays for Vfl Bochum in Germany, and in the past, he played in J-League for Kawasaki Frontale. He is a 3rd generation Korean born in Japan and attended North Korean school in Japan, though his parents held South Korea citizenship. He later traded his South Korea citizenship for North Korean citizenship. He was the one who was crying during 2010 World Cup when North Korean national anthem came on.

Tadanari Lee: I'm not 100% sure if he is going to play because Zaccheroni does not have a set roster. Tadanari Lee is also a 3rd generation Korean who was born in Japan. In the past, he briefly joined South Korea's U-19 and U-20 team, but due to Korean politics in football and strong discrimination by Korea players, he did not play any official games and returned to Japan. Currently, he plays for Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

You can watch a documentary on these two players here.


**Update** 11/15/2011 7:45 PM
North Korea won the game 1 - 0, however, it seemed to me Zaccheroni did not put in his usual starters and Japan looked very relaxed while North Korean players were playing their best. Jong Tae-se subbed out during 1st half due to an injury and Tadanari Lee played about last 10 minutes during 2nd half. Few things I noticed during the game:
1) I noticed that there were no advertisement banners around the field. I have never watched any FIFA football game without advertisement banners around the field.
2) North Koreans cheered, till the very end of the game, every time North Korean players got the ball.
3) I guess they did not bring enough soccer balls for the game. I saw the players chase after the ball onto the track when it went out of bounds. Usually, ball boy just throws the ball to the player, but that rarely happened.
4) Japanese fans looked very bored since they were not allowed to cheer during the game.

Happy Veterans Day and 빼빼로 Day

Today is 11/11/11. In Korea, people celebrate Pepero (빼빼로) Day. It is a day where couples give 빼빼로 to each other and where Lotte's sales of 빼빼로 increases. According to Wikipedia, Pepero Day began:

in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero".

However, in America, today (11/11/11), we celebrate Veterans Day. We remember and thank all the veterans who fought to keep the freedom here in the U.S. Because I consider myself both Korean and American, I will allow myself to celebrate both.

Thank you veterans for your service and for fighting for the freedom. And Happy Pepero 빼빼로 Day everyone! May everyone grow as tall and slender as a Pepero!

Gunnie Weekly (Week of Nov. 7)

Mixed News for the week of November 7, 2011

- Korea is going to toughen punishment on match-fixing in sport. I hope Korea also gets tough on crimes in politics. (source AFP)

- According to British American Security Information Council (BASIC), North Korea might have 6 nukes. This is what happens when countries give *foreign aid to countries like North Korea.

Analyst estimates of an arsenal of around six weapons, as noted in Table 2 in Chapter 2, are based on the amount of separated plutonium that North Korea may have been able to produce. These estimates suggest overall production of around 50kg of separated plutonium, enough for at least six nuclear weapons but possibly more. However, these estimates also need to be treated with great caution. The amount of fissile material used in each nuclear weapon depends on the sophistication of the design and there is no reliable open source information on North Korean nuclear weapons design. There are also uncertainties over how much plutonium North Korea has been able to produce and concerns over a previously undisclosed uranium enrichment programme shown to US academic visitors to North Korea in November 2010.

         *Foreign Aid [fawr-in, eyd]: To take money from poor people in wealthy countries and give it to rich people in poor countries.
              Ex. United States government taxed its people and gave it to North Korea as foreign aid.




- Speaking of North Korea, guess who is going to North Korea. The Samurai Blues (Japanese National Football [Soccer for Americans] Team) and its fans. (Samurai Blues)

- Interesting news. It almost made me happy until I found out it was a rumor. (that guy just won't die... ugh..) Kim Jong-il Death Rumors Rattle Markets. I thought it was interesting how the rumor actually rattled the Korean markets and the shares plunged a bit, and defense-related companies' shares rose.

Rumors of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death spread through the South Korean stock market on Tuesday, driving share prices down and causing the won to plunge against the U.S. dollar. The KOSPI hovered around the 1,915 point level, similar to Monday's close, but fell steeply at around 2:20 p.m. when the rumors hit the market. It closed down 0.8 percent (15.96 points) at 1,903.14. 

The won, which had been slowly strengthening, reversed direction and closed at W1,121 per dollar, down W4.1 from the previous day's close. 

As the rumor spread, shares of defense-related companies surged. S&T Dynamics, which makes weapons and aviation systems, closed up 6 percent at W15,900, while Speco, which makes fin stabilizers for naval destroyers, ended up 4.2 percent. Embedded systems developer MDS Tech gained 3.7 percent, and Huneed Technologies, which makes communication and security systems, 3.5 percent.

- If you want to see how North Korea looks during fall, here you go. (North Korea in Autumn) Don't be fooled by the pictures thought because in reality, North Korea looks like this and this. (NSFW)

- Back to South Korea. As always, Korean politicians are fighting again (physically). Not a surprise. This time, they are fighting over the passage of Korean FTA that passed the U.S. Congress couple of weeks ago. Here and here. I find it ironic because former president Roh Moo-hyun (Democratic Party) initially negotiated Korea-U.S. FTA with U.S. Now, Democratic party, who is the minority, are opposing the passage for the sake of their political standing. No worries though (not that anybody really worried about it). KORUS FTA will pass in Korea. Too much is at stake for Korea to not pass the bill.

**addendum: GNP brings FTA to committee vote

Just in case people are curious about how they fight, you can watch this clip.

- I will finish with this. Good luck to all the Korean high school seniors on their college entrance exam, specifically called "College Scholastic Ability Test" or 수능. This the day when every parent of high school seniors turn super religious and start praying to everything so that their children will do well.

Jokes aside, College Scholastic Ability Test is Korean or 수능 is the Korean version of SAT, except it's only held once a year and it determines their place in college. Scoring high on the test will put you at one of top three university in Korea, S.K.Y. (Seoul, Koryo, Yonsei). Also, the whole country goes silent during time of the test.

Aviation authorities said 88 flights would be rescheduled to avoid noisy landings and take-offs during language listening tests in the morning and afternoon.

Drivers of vehicles and trains were asked to avoid honking horns near test centres.

The stock market's opening and closing was delayed by an hour. Many government offices and private companies also opened late to ease rush-hour traffic so that students could arrive at test centres on time.

A police patrol car, siren blaring, was seen escorting one latecomer outside Seoul's Whimoon high school. (source)

Good luck to all of them!!!

Gunnie Weekly

I know... It's been a while since I made my last post.

Because I'm a newbie blogger, I will be trying out different things on my blog. If you see changes, regarding posts, subjects, topics, and etc, it's okay. I think that's what newbie bloggers are supposed to do.

Anyways, Gunnie Weekly is going to be and it will be mix of news regarding South/North Korea mostly and other interesting topics I find. Here is this week's:


//////more after the break//////
Have questions? Email me

Follow up: North Korean Defectors

(**Finally updating my blog. Had family/relatives from Korea, Iowa, Michigan, and Stockton for few weeks, so I was busy hanging out with them.**)


Couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about North Korean defector committing suicide. Recently, International Crisis Group published a report "Strangers at Home: North Koreans in the South." I skimmed through the publication over the weekend, and it covers a broad spectrum of the issue that defectors face. If you guys are interested, you can read it here. It's about 44 pages long but since it's in the Chicago Manual of Style, it should be a quick read. For those who are interested in North Korea and its defectors, I hope you guys enjoy it.

I HOPE U.N. is Joking...

I just came across this article about "United Nations’ New Arms Watchdog: North Korea" and hoped that U.N. was pulling a prank on the world.....

//////more after the break//////

North Korean Defector/Refugee Commits Suicide

Last week, my good friend Mr. Joe sent me this article.

Won Kyung Seo's body was found hanging at his family's home on June 18th. His wife was found dead with stab wounds. According to the article, Seo family defected North Korea and settled in Rochester, GA a year and a half ago.

The Seos were a family of four refugees from North Korea and their journey to Rochester was all but easy. They escaped one of the most oppressive, isolated nations in the world and in doing so, they faced the threat of execution every step of the way... 

...On Saturday, June 18th, police found the body of Won Kyung Seo hanging in the upstairs apartment of his family’s home on South Clinton Avenue. His wife Young Hwa Kim, had fatal stab wounds. One of their sons found their bodies and police say it was an apparent murder-suicide.

I'm starting to get a feeling that Mr. Seo probably killed his wife, out of impulse anger while they were arguing, then took his life after he realized what he did. The article does state that Mr. Seo and his wife had marital issues and police were called because of their fights.

Only Mr. Seo and his family knows what really happened on Saturday night but those who knew the family say the couple had marital issues. Neighbors say the sons have had to call the police to their home before because of their parents’ fights.
Domestic violence happens to people in all situations and from all backgrounds. But add to that the stresses of being in a new country. It doesn’t make anything better.

 Maybe after months of having marital issue with his wife, he lashed out at the moment and took an action that he regretted.

//// More after the break //// if you have questions, ask.

Quick Update: China Lays Claim to Arirang (What?!?! among other things they lay claim to??)

So I was on www.daum.net, which I go on to check updates on Korean news. Then I found out that Koreans were outraged by China. Why? because China was registering Korea's unofficial national anthem "Arirang" (아리랑), as part of its own cultural heritage. (Source) However, Beijing explained that it registered the song as part of culture of ethnic Koreans in China.

China has outraged patriotic Koreans by registering the folk song "Arirang," widely considered Korea's unofficial national anthem, as part of its own cultural heritage. 

Beijing says it merely registered the song as part of the culture of ethnic Koreans in China...

I am going to have to call B.S. on this one and agree with "some" experts on this issue because it seems that China has already registered other things before this.

Earlier, China had designated as its own cultural heritage the traditional Korean feast celebrating one's 60th birthday, traditional Korean wedding ceremony, the traditional Korean dress hanbok and a farmer's dance, saying they are practiced by ethnic Korean in northeastern China. 

The Korean Arirang Association in a statement on Wednesday said, "When China first designated some ethnic Korean cultural customs including the farmer's dance in Yanbian as part of its own culture, rumors started to circulate that China would go further than that, and it seems they have become a reality now." It said the move "is a definite threat at a time when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has chosen 'Arirang' among 100 icons representing Korea and has linked the song with efforts to promote the country's brand image." 

China succeeded in registering the Yanbian farmer's dance on the UN World Heritage list in 2009. 

The article says that "some" experts believe this: 

...move is an extension of the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences' "Northeast Project," which critics say sought to co-opt the culture of the early Korean kingdoms. 

I agree with these experts. I believe there are more things to come. For some people who doesn't know what Northeast Project is, here you go.  Basically, China launched a study back in 2002 and claimed that Koguryo history belongs to China, not Korea. That wasn't the only time China made a claim to something that belonged to Korea. Back in 2010, there was a case where China made a claim to Korean alphabet Hangul (한글) (Source)

What do I think about this?? I think Korean politicians should wake the hell up and do something about this. Also, Koreans should take more interested in issues like this and fight. Dokdo is not the only thing issue that we need to fight for.

In the mean time... While I keep close eye on this issue, you guys can enjoy "Arirang" and... oh.. Kim Yuna =)

[Post Script: An interesting article about a man and arirang. Here.]

OH~ Canada~

Sometimes, I want to move to Canada. Why? Because its government is a pushover and so easy to convince. I am just kidding about that. But here is the reason why. 

Basically, the Maeng family moved to Canada in 2003 from South Korea, after their son, Sung-joo, was diagnosed with mental illness in 2001. While the family was bidding for permanent residency in Canada, they were told by the government that had to leave the country, I think, on the basis that they disclosed their son's mental illness when they applied for temporary visa. However...

The Maeng family's story has attracted national attention because federal officials had said the family had to leave Canada by June 30 because providing health care and social services for 14-year-old Sung-Joo would put too much strain on the system...

...Lawyer Jack Haller said he and the two other lawyers working on the case were baffled by the federal government's initial decision to deport the family, and the legal team was poised to seek an injunction to stop the process...

...Meanwhile, an online petition supporting the family's wish to stay in Canada had attracted 7,000 signatures.

What surprised me the most were these two things.

Haller [family's attorney] said Sung-Joo doesn't require expensive medications, will likely be home-schooled and has incurred about $1,000 in hospital-care costs in the past four years.

...the province has confirmed it will cover the health costs associated with the family's autistic son, a federal source confirmed Thursday.

Hospital-care cost over four years was only $1,000!!!!! AND, here is the best part: they are going to cover the health cost for the family's autistic son. This will NEVER happen in the U.S., even though U.S. is the richest and the greatest country in the world (in my view), because U.S. health care system is garbage and no politicians will fix it. 

Way to go Canada for welcoming another immigrant family to make its country better, and doing what is right.

Kpop Wave Sweeps Europe

So couple of days ago, I saw this on the news:

What is going on in France???? NO, they are not taking over the Bastille Castle.
Nearly 1000 European kpop fans are conducting a demonstration in front of Louvre Museum, demanding S.M. Entertainment (previously Soo Man Entertainment, now "Star Museum" Entertainment) to extend their Kpop concert in France to 2nd day. (OMG!!! I understood what these people were singing in Korean!! Their pronunciation is right on!) Tickets, which went on sale last April, were sold out within first 15 minutes it went on sale. These people were the slow ones who could not buy the tickets on time. As a result, they are out conducting a demonstration. KBS News clip also stated that this kind of demonstration was not only in France, but also in Germany, Spain, and Swiss. Fortunately, after all the dancing and singing, these people got their wish granted because S.M. Entertainment decided to extend their to 2nd day.

This is interesting for me because I honestly thought the apex of Kpop was going to be Asia. I mean, even though I do enjoy listening to Kpop, I never thought Kpop was considered "music". If I wanted to listen to Korean "music", I'd turn on Kim Kwang Suk, Lucid Fall, 10cm, or Lee Moon Sae (whose concert I am hoping to attend next week).

I guess I am proven wrong..

Then yesterday, while I was watching the Korean news, I saw this craziness!!!

Fans from all over Europe were at Charles de Gaulle Airport, waiting for the arrival of Kpop stars, like SuperJunior, SHINee (pronounced \ˈshī-nē\ - shiny), f(x), etc.. How long will this Kpop "wave" last??? I do not know. I am shocked enough by this already. I will not assume anything else because I will never know where Kpop will next strike. Maybe U.S.???


[My confession to everyone.. I was listening to Girl's Generation while I was writing this post. ㅠ.ㅠ;;;]

So You Need 50 Reasons Why Seoul is the Greatest City??

Couple of weeks ago, CNNgo published an article 50 Reasons Why Seoul is the World's Greatest City.

While I do agree with most of the things on the list, i.e. live octopus, ice princess (kim yuna), 찜질방, beautiful (fake) women, and etc... I think they forgot one thing - the public transportation. Many will agree that Korea's public transportation is very well connected, very informative, and English friendly all at a reasonable cost. Here is a map of subway system in Korea. It literally covers every grounds on Seoul. If you need to find a subway station, you can walk for about 5 minutes, and BAM!! There it is. What? You don't feel like walking? Hop on the metro bus, which literally comes every 5 to 10 minutes, and it will most likely stop at a subway station.

Putting public transportation aside, I think the list is almost right on. If you are planning to visit Korea anytime soon, I suppose this list will be a great introduction to the city.

...And the World's Second Best Country is...!!!!

The DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA!!!

North Korea released its own "study" of global happiness index and it ranked DPRK (朝鮮 chosun) 2nd after China (中國), who placed first.You can read the article here.

               China is the happiest place on earth(!!) according to a new global happiness index released by North Korea's Chosun Central Television. China earned 100 out of 100 points, followed closely by North Korea (98 points), then Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela.

And the last place went to U.S., who ranked 203rd. South Korea (南朝鮮 nam-chosun) is ranked somewhere on the bottom at 152nd.

Coming in at 203rd place is America (or rather "the American Empire", 美帝国), with only 3 happiness points. South Korea got a measly 18 points for 152nd place.

@#$%@#%$#^!!!! Did my parents immigrate to the wrong country?!?!? I thought U.S. was supposed to be the greatest country in the world. That's why I'm here. However, after looking at these pictures, I think North Korea was pretty accurate with their global happiness index. (sarcasm)

Putting my sarcasm aside.........
Actually, I have nothing more to say about this, but take a look at this - Reality of North Korea. 

Kim Jong-il and his thugs are just ridiculous.

Welcome to Gunny's Blog (One of many first posts)

Welcome to Gunny's blog!!

Today is May 30, 2011, Monday -
Happy Memorial Day!
First, I would like to thank all the arms forces who fought for our freedom. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here in America, enjoying my cup of Momo Peach Tea from Bricks. I would probably be under Kim Jong-il regime getting my brain washed. So, I would like to thank all the armed forces.

I created this blog about 3 years ago. However, I only created it and never really wrote anything. Main reason was because I didn't have anything to write about. After years of living life and thinking, I decided to restart my blog with a goal to write/discuss about news and issues surrounding Korea (North and South), and also to practice my writing skills. (Being out of school for about a year now really dumbed down my writing skills.) Sometimes this blog will rant about issues/news that will infuriate me, like this. And sometimes, this blog will rejoice about issues/news that will make me smile, like this. (Yes, I'm still happy about this. Just let me be.) Hopefully, some readers will disagree with the things I discuss. That will be the part of the purpose of this blog.

So please stay tuned and please discuss your thoughts here.