Ready to take on the NBA

Some former NBA stars are coming to South Korea. In another decade or two their skills should have deteriorated to the point that I could actually compete with them. They'll be playing on my birthday, Sept 5, so that will give me an excuse not to get out and play with them. I don't care how good Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was back in the day, he is now 62 years old. I think I'm ready to take him on now.

There is one way I could get on the court against any NBA player, whether current or retired. I would just need to be able to change one or two rules.

Rule number 1: I could never be called for a foul.

Rule number 2: The opposing players all must wear high heels.

If the game is still competitive then I would require the opposing players to wear boxing gloves.

In other words, this shit ain't perfect

The Korea Times has a hit piece on TBS eFM, the all-English radio station based in Seoul. To prove their case they talk with two people--a native Korean and a Canadian. Based on such a sample I could prove that no one ever listens to Rush Limbaugh.

* The easiest story for a reporter to write is that something is "overrated" or has fallen short of expectations.

* Has the Korea Times reached expectations?

* I did notice that the Korean national interviewed in the story said he keeps up with the news by reading several publications, including the Korea Times (but not the Korea Herald).

* The reporter commits a cardinal sin of reporting: relying on just one or two sources for extended commentary.

Slow Lane to Free Trade

I mentioned that I had lunch with my buddy Kim Chung-ho a few weeks ago. Today he has an opinion piece in today's Korea Times. In case you can't read the piece, rest assured that he is very much in favor of more free trade.

SHUT UP AND ACT!!!

I really don't know why people pay attention to what celebrities, actors, and athletes have to say. One thing I hate is when I go to a concert and a musician decides to start talking about politics. If they put their thoughts to some good sounding music, fine. But I don't care what you think.

The latest Please Shut Up and sing/act/play request comes via a Korean actress named Kim Min-seon. She just got sued for her comments last year about U.S. beef.

As the Korea Herald reminds us:

In last May Kim, amid nationwide protests over the government's decision to
import U.S. beef, wrote on her mini-homepage that she would "rather eat
potassium cyanide" than see the imports of U.S. beef with bones tainted with mad
cow disease in Korea.

* I do wonder about the intelligence of people who would have stopped buying U.S. meat because of what an actress said.

* I do hope the company successfully sues the skirt off her...

* I suppose she convinced Koreans to buy Australian beef?

* This is nothing against the Korean actress. My favorite singer is Prince. I really don't care what he thinks about politics or American beef.

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Last weekend: Suicide, Kim Young Ha, NK

Credit: Joanne Cho Event 1: Friday night I went to a talk given by Fulbright junior researcher Joanne Cho. She did a great job putting together statistics about some of the most commonly cited reasons that so many Koreans commit suicide. Probably the most provocative tidbit: Cho watched 86 dramas from the spring of 2012 to now, she says that 63 had "scenes depicting or discussing suicide" in a favorable light (as a way to solve problems, that troubled people can be forgiven for their sins and are even seen as sympathetic). Another interesting tidbit: While it is often cited that Korea is number one in the world in suicide (among countries reporting reliable statistics), what I had not realized or had forgotten is that Korean men are number 8 in the world compared to men in other countries with reliable statistics, Korean women are #1 in the world when compared to women in other countries. My questions for the speaker: 1) What was a finding in your research th...

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role. Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than c...

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