- Good times are back on the Korean Peninsula, and by good
times, take that to mean North Korea is once again puffing out its chest,
trying to act all badass and threatening to kick off World War III if its
neighbors to the south don’t do exactly what it wants. What has the cherubic
Kim Jong Un and his crew’s state-issued thighty-whities in a bunch this time? A
plan by the South Korean government to allow human rights activists to drop anti-North
leaflets on its territory is the source of the strife. The North threatened on
Friday to open fire on South Korea if it allows activists to go ahead with
their plans, in the process reminding the world a) why they hate North Korea
and b) that the North is still technically at war with the South after their
1950-53 conflict ended in merely a truce. Friday’s proclamation represent’s the
North’s strongest warning against its long-time foe in months, which is saying
something for a Communist hellhole of a nation that often uses dismissive
denouncing its rich, capitalist neighbor and threatening all-out war. Stir a
looming presidential election in the South and plans to deploy longer-range
missiles by the government in Seoul and the perpetual belligerence of Pyongyang
and….well…..here we are. Pak Sang-hak, a North Korean exile who defected to the
South 12 years ago, now leads a coalition of groups of North Korean exiles and
human rights activists and they are the group planning to launch giant balloons
containing 200,000 leaflets criticizing North Korea's government for the second
consecutive year. "We had similar threats last year and they did not stop
us before and this is not going to stop us this time," Pak said. Along
with the leaflets, printed on plastic bags, the group will including $1 bills
with some of the balloons they float across the border. Ironically, the bags
themselves are reportedly prized by North Koreans, many of whom often lack
daily necessities. South Korea not only plans to allow the launch, but its
defense minister reassured parliament that the military would retaliate in the
event of any attack. "If (a North Korean strike) were to happen, there would be a
perfect response against the source of the attack," Kim Kwan-jin proclaimed.
There have been several altercations between the two nations in recent years,
including North Korea shelling a South Korean island almost two years ago and
(allegedly) sinking a South Korean navy ship. Never a dull day with these two
nations……….
- So are dolphins really nature’s ultimate tweakers? Don’t
be fooled by the porpoises’ seemingly low-key nature because a new study shows
that they have a unique ability to rest only half their brain at a time, allowing
them to remain alert indefinitely. Researchers have longed theorized that dolphins
evolved this sleeping ability because without it they would have a difficult
time continuously breathing in the ocean and therefore, to stay alive. The
capability to never completely zone out is merely a nice side effect, according
to researchers from the National Marine Mammal Foundation. A team from the
foundation tested a male and a female dolphin in a research pen just off the
coast of San Diego and required them to use their sound-based navigation
systems -- an ability called echolocation, which functions like a submarine's
sonar system -- to find targets randomly spread around the pen. Always fast
learners, the dolphins were taught to bump a paddle at the end of the pen every
time they thought they found a target. They received audible praise and fish to
eat when they were correct and over time, they became very good at the task.
The female dolphin was slightly more accurate, 90 percent correct to 75 percent
for the male, but both remained consistent even as the experiment continued
nonstop for more than two weeks. After 15 days of testing, the female dolphin’s
test results were identical to what they had been for the previous 14 days. In
evaluating their findings, the researchers postulated that continuous breathing
may not be the only reason dolphins evolved the ability to sleep one brain
hemisphere at a time. By remaining alert around the clock, they can also keep
an eye out for predators. That would be helpful in fleeing from a hungry sea
killer………
- Halloween came early for moviegoers this weekend, with the
terrifying, spooky thrills of “Paranormal Activity 4” claiming the top spot on
the earnings list with $30.2 million in its debut. Ben Affleck’s much-hyped
international drama “Argo” nailed down second place with $16.6 million in its
second weekend, upping its cumulative domestic total to $43.2 million. “Hotel
Transylvania” spooked its was to third place with $13.5 million in its fourth
weekend, giving the family-friendly film $119 million in domestic earnings so
far. That was just enough to fend off Liam Neeson and the ass-kicking prowess
of “Taken 2,” which finished fourth with $13.4 million for a three-week haul of
$105.9 million and counting. Tyler Perry was back in theaters this weekend and
his new movie “Alex Cross” did what Tyler Perry movies typically do:
disappoint. “Cross” managed only a fifth-place finish in its debut with a so-so
$11.7 million. On its heels with sixth-place finisher “Sinister,” which evil-ed
its way to $9 million and has amassed $31.9 million in two weeks of release. Kevin
James suffered through another underwhelming weekend with his MMA-centric
effort “Here Comes the Boom,” taking in just $8.5 million for a two-week haul
of $23.2 million and counting. “Pitch Perfect” lost much of its early momentum,
stumbling to an eighth-place result with $7 million and an overall tally of
$45.7 million. “Frankenweenie” was ninth for the frame with $4.4 million and
has earned $28.4 million in three weeks of work. “Looper” rounded out the top
10 with $4.2 million and its four-week bank roll stands at $29.9 million. “Seven
Psychopaths” (No. 11) and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (No. 12) both fell
out from last weekend’s top 10………..
- Voter turnout is a perennial concern in the United States,
from coast to coast. Convincing Americans to put down their iPhone, back away
from that DVR-ed episode of “The Walking Dead” or forego their nap in order to
spend 45 minutes driving to their local polling place, waiting in line and voting
is a virtually impossible task, even in a presiddential election year. That’s
what it makes so little sense that anyone is angry about fliers offering pot in
order to show up and vote in local elections in Eagle Rock, Calif. If some
anonymous person or group wants to give away $40 worth of free medical-grade marijuana
just for voting in local council elections, why should that be a problem? If it
gets more voters to the polls, so be it. How else are stoners going to be
motivated to vote? They sure as hell won’t be fired up by the chance to select
qualified leaders to make important decisions affecting their daily quality of
life. Plus, maybe a few recreational pot users will rediscover their love of
the hippie lettuce or better still, the cult of stoner-dom may add a few
converts. Whatever one’s take on the idea of (allegedly) offering chron for
voting, there is no questioning the fact that nearly 10 times as many voters – 792 in all – turned out to the
polls in Eagle Rock than showed up last year. Some über-square voters expressed
dismay that there was even a perceived need to make that sort of offer, but
these people are clearly missing the point. The fliers asked citizens to
support the Progress and Collaboration Slate, which ran against the neighborhood
council’s opposition to pot dispensaries. Getting the word out remains vital
for the PCS, given the council’s attempts to ban pot dispensaries. Thankfully,
the organization collected enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot,
leaving the issue in the hands of voters. Oh, and a big thumbs down needs to go
to Los Angeles city councilman Jose Huizar, who represents the district and
moronically submitted the flier to the L.A. City Attorney’s Office to see if
any legal action can be taken. Unless that legal action is an official
commendation of awesomeness, then don’t even bother………
- Soccer fans are the best. What other sport routinely has
spectators who attack players on the field during games, riot whether their
team wins or loses, brawl with each other in the stands and generally treat a
game like it is an actual war with life-or-death stakes? Even with that
reputation, soccer fans are still finding ways to up the ante and act like even
bigger jackasses than they ever have. A select group of ass hats who either
cheer for or really hate Russian club team Dynamo Moscow have provided the
latest instance of idiocy, dressing in camouflage gear, sneaking onto the
club's training ground on Friday and unleashing a barrage of paintballs at the
players and club staff. Dynamo Moscow is off to its worst-ever start to a
season and what better way to show support for the team during a tough time
than going paintball on their incompetent asses and throwing fliers onto the
field threatening the club's foreign players and demanding better performances?
Oddly enough, the team isn't down with the display and club officials have
vowed to crack down on the fans responsible for the attack. "We're set to
use all the resources we have at our disposal to discover those responsible and
bring them to court," the club said in a post on its official website.
"We are also set to make the names of those responsible public."
Midfielder Alan Gatagov went a step further, suggesting that the incident has
left some of the squad scared. "I just can't find the right words,"
he said. "What are we supposed to do now? Should each of us hire a
personal bodyguard? I was hit in the back of the head when they shot at us.
Lots of players were also hit." You could hire a personal bodyguard, A.,
or you could just win every match for the rest of the season. There was another
attack earlier this year, when Dynamo fans fired flares and scrawled graffiti
in the street outside the training ground, urging the players to stop
humiliating the Dynamo name with their play. As always, stay classy, soccer
fans………
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