Thursday, May 26, 2005

They are all Terrorists!

A new Amnesty International report points out what we all already know.

"The USA, as the unrivalled political, military and economic hyper-power, sets the tone for governmental behaviour worldwide. When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity and audacity. From Israel to Uzbekistan, Egypt to Nepal, governments have openly defied human rights and international humanitarian law in the name of national security and “counter-terrorism”."
 
Now I have to be truthful when I say that I have never been a big fan of the way the US runs things in the world outside their borders, so my view may be a bit biased, I admit that. However for the so-called land of the free to abuse human rights in the name of the War on Terror is wrong. As Amnesty details above, now every country is doing it. Every time there is opposition to the government it is very easy to claim terrorism and throw them in jail without trail or kill them. I have heard the argument that the world has changed and this is the way it is now. Well that is bullshit, imprisoning people without charge or murdering them, there is no excuse for that.
 
Now that America (well the government anyway, there are plenty of good people who probably wouldn't do this) has trampled on human rights, violated international law and murdered thousands of innocent Iraqis, maybe it is time to step back, look at what is happening in the world and who is following the lead.
 
The silence from the American government over the massacres in Uzbekistan is deafening...
 
San Nakji for President!

Don't make my top 10 list.

No one interested in my listing below? Oh well, here's another one for you. This changes frequently although the a number have been there for a while. It is basically a list of organisations / individuals / events pissing me off at the moment. Here we go.
 
1 - Power Companies
2 - Petrol Companies
3 - New Zealand First
4 - Tony Blair
5 - George Lucas
6 - The War on Terror
7 - International Rugby League
8 - People from Christchurch
9 - Anti GE Activists
10 - Evangelical Churches
 
Well, that's it for now. Any questions?
 
San Nakji for President!

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

It worked

Wow, the email to blog thing worked. I am smart after all!
 
San Nakji for President!
 

Blog like you have never Blogged before

I am always amazed by English and how you can make pretty much any noun a verb. Like Blog... Anyway, that wasn't what my blog is about, just thinking about my title...
I was looking at other people's blogs and seeing how you can email to your blog. Everyone seemed to be having problem with it, but still I thought I would give it a go. After all, I am quite email savy, right? Well, I sent one and nothing has happened... I think I have to face facts that I am like all the others... I think I will get over it, one day, some day...
I am just watching an item on CNN about women's boxing. I quite like my boxing, but have never really seen women's boxing except for the movie Million Dollar Baby, you can find my review of that on March 29th. (not sure how you link to that, anyone out there who would like to help?). I think my problem with women's boxing is that I hate to see a woman get hurt. Is this a sexist thing to feel? I am not sure, but there is nothing worse in this world for me than a woman who has been injured. In fact I can't even watch movies where there are rape scenes, it just freaks me out. In this CNN item, they are talking about the real life influence for the Million Dollar Baby and how she was injured. The reason seems to be that no one takes time to train women in how to fight properly and so they don't learn how to take punches and so take a lot more damage in the ring. I think I could get over my aversion to women being hurt if it were their choice. I of course would never stand in a woman's way (especially if she were a well trained boxer!) trying to stop her do the things she wants to do. So if they can get the proper training and I suppose the respect they need to get the training, then I say go for it, just don't expect me to watch...

San Nakji for President!

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Lists

Ok, one more post! I was thinking about lists and how much I like em. I kind of have a list in my mind of the top ten people and organisations in this world that I am not happy with at the moment. I am arranging that list, and once I have it right, I am sure you would love to see it! In the meantime, here are the top 5 people I have no time for and the top 5 people who I quite like. Not all of them are alive!

No Time List

1 - Pol Pot
2 - Jeon Du Hwan
3 - George Bush
4 - Edward I
5 - Winston Peters

Quite Like List

1 - King Sejong the Great
2 - Gandhi
3 - Karl Marx
4 - Ho Chi Minh
5 - Nelson Mandella

That's from the top of my head, it may change. Anyone like to share their lists?

San Nakji for President!

San Nakji has a Headache!

Well, I do... Not sure what to blog about today. A lot of things that are bubbling around on the surface, but nothing really there to grab.
Last week, I made an agreement with myself to read more books. I read 'Along Way Down' by Nick Hornby, given to me by my better half. I don't often read fiction, but Nick would be one of my favourite authors. The book made me think about Suicide and where my mind is about it. I pretty much think it is a poor way to go, but I will leave my thoughts for another day when my head doesn't hurt so much!
The book I am reading now is called The Know-It-All by A.J Jacobs. Basically this guy wrote a book about how he read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. It sounds like a stupid premise of a book, but actually it is quite good and it is definitely giving me some helpful hints for my pub quiz tomorrow night!
Still to go I have a book about an Australian journalists travels around the world, a book about Ghengis Khan, Pol Pot, the Templars and a book about terrorist groups. Yup, now you have figured out what San Nakji is all about!

San Nakji for President!

Monday, May 23, 2005

Foreign Men

A few years ago, oh my god, almost 10! I met a guy from the US Army when I was in Korea who counselled soldiers who wanted to get married to local girls. He told me that 95% of marriages between the soldiers and Korean women ended in divorce and so it was army policy to try and talk the soldier out of it. It brings up a number of interesting questions and I have seen other internet discussions about general relationships between Korean women and foreign, mostly of the white variety, men and I find this very interesting. In fact San Nakji was talking to his better half only last night about this. The question is really two fold. The first is, Why are there so many relationships between Korean women and western men and the second is, Why is the divorce rate so high?
When San Nakji's wife was younger, she and all her friends had this idea that the perfect man was a White Man, probably from USA. They felt that these men would treat women better and understand them much more than the average Korean man would. There seems to be a mistique surrounding the white man in Korea (most East Asian nations to be fair)and it is no wonder that a certain type of male has appeared, which Space Nakji calls, the Creepy White Guy (CWG). The CWG, or as we used to call him at Uni, Neil (long story!), is a particular type of guy who lusts after Asian women. Mostly he does this because the women in his own country wouldn't give him the time of day. They certainly haven't built up a cult around him! Generally his interest in the country the girl is from is fleeting as he is more interested in scoring. He will quite happily talk about his conquests and will start to make out like he is the greatest stud in the world. The problem is that he ain't. More of a problem is that once a Korean woman goes out with a western guy for any length of time, they will realise that a guy is just a guy is just a guy. Yup, sorry ladies. western guys are just likely to leave the seat up, not clean up around the house and beat up their wives. This is the reason for the high divorce rate. After a while the Korean woman will realise that actually they have nothing in common, the whole relationship was based on a myth and now that myth is dispelled there is nothing to keep it going. Believe it or not you do actually have to have things that you can share to have a relationship, I know, it is hard to accept. The CWG has nothing to offer and is soon found out!
Media in both the east and the west have a lot to answer for by helping promote these stereotypes. For eastern media it is the dashing white guy and in the west it is the exotic, feminine and always available oriental girl. When it comes down to it, there are only men and women in this world. Racial differences are purely coincidental..

San Nakji for President!

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Greeting Card Fun

Here in San Nakji's office, as my signature is so sought after, I am always being asked to sign birthday cards, maternity cards, farewell cards, credit cards and the like. Well, I start to run out of things to say after a while, so I came up with this idea which I would like to recommend to the humble reader...
Everyone likes a bit of trivia. Why not enlighten the receiver of the card with a helpful tidbit like, 'The Capital of Chad is Ndjamena - San Nakji', or 'Haley's Comet Comes to Earth Every 76 Years - San Nakji. How about, 'South Chilean Red Ants Require 3.4 Litres of Ice Cream Per Day - San Nakji. Well it doesn't have to be true. What I can say is that this will definitely make your quote memorable and will help the reader in their next pub quiz, jeopardy outing. Can you imagine a contestant betting all their money with Alex on what South Chilean Read Ants can't get enough of?? All because you wrote it in their card! Go on, try it!

San Nakji for President!

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

World Cup 2006

So San Nakji applied for a job at the World Cup in Germany next year. All I have to do now is wait... I was at the last World Cup and had so much fun and met so many interesting people. It would be great to make it two in a row. It would also give me a chance to visit my friends in Germany and in Switzerland. I would love to visit Liechtenstein again too. The waiting is the hardest part, but hey, I have done everything, so if my application is not successful, then so be it!

San Nakji for President!

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Blogging Because I Can

I have been looking over a lot of blogs today and there are so many that contain just one post. People have these grandious ideas about posting but I think it takes real motivation to keep on doing it. So far, so good! It is interesting to read the sites which have more than one post. Some are very personal and I feel bad reading them, it feels like reading someone's diary or looking through their bedroom window. Others are less self-absorbed and talk about issues in the world that are important to them. There is another kind, the advertising blog. What are they all about? I am not quite sure why they exist. I suppose if at least one person clicks on a link there, the post was worth it? Anyway, with this blog I wasn't sure how I wanted it to go. My personal life is pretty much my personal life, so I hope I am keeping away from that. I even debated about including which country I was from, but in the end I decided that there was no point in hiding it as some of my points of view come from where I am, the last country on earth... I like to think that San Nakji is seen as someone with a wide ranging view who likes to make points on many issues. Some may find them boring, but hopefully if at least one person thinks about what was written, then like the advertising blogs, San Nakji has done well.
Three blogs I really like are (in no particular order), Oriconailin (I still can't remember this name and so have it bookmarked!), Follow that Mouse (love the mouse picture) and Space Nakji (well, we share a name after all!).
Oriconailin was kind enough to be the first person to leave a message on this blog. Reading her blog is, as I say above, sometimes like reading her personal diary. She is very honest and I think she tries to inspire through her words. I like reading it because she never seems down. Plus the purple is great! Now, San Nakji is a confirmed Athiest, but I appreciate Oriconailin as the kind of Christian all other Christians should aspire to. She seems to be very open to other ideas and I couldn't imagine her saying anything bad about anyone. On the negative side she is a fan of Orlando Bloom, who although a guest in this country for over a year, should be told the truth by his agent that he is eye candy who cannot act and should give up now for the sake of us all!
Mouse is a prolific blogger. Everyday he posts many different pieces of information about the things that he is interested in and issues of the day that he feels passionate about. I have learned a lot from his site and this is a site that San Nakji must go to daily.
I found Space Nakji by accident. After my blog name was decided, I wondered who else was using Nakji as a name. There is only one other, Space Nakji. I like her blog because it is about her experiences in Korea, a place dear to my heart. I can understand a lot of the things she talks about and I am particularly impressed with her writing style. I was disappointed recently to see that she disabled the comments function. Some fool decided it was smart and clever to write abusive comments and so she decided to not allow any. A bit sad, I myself would have just deleted them, but I can understand where she is coming from.
So there you go, three very different blogs, but all worth having a look at.

I can't forget my friend Sciubi. Short but sweet Sciubi!

Happy Birthday to Me

San Nakji for President!

Monday, May 16, 2005

Dreams

I haven't blogged for a couple of days, I am sure everyone has missed San Nakji. I wasn't sure what to write about, so I thought I would touch on dreams. San Nakji is a sceptic when it comes to dreams. What you dream about is what has been on your mind, nothing more. I don't believe that they fortell the future or anything like that.
Now, many Koreans would disagree with me. My better half is one of them and swears blind that our imminent child will be a girl. Why? Because she dreamed it. To back this up, her mum had the same dream. How can I go against to Koreans and their dreams? There are books devoted to the subject of Korean dreams. They really put a lot of faith in them and on top of the baby dreams they also have money dreams, also called Pig Dreams or 돼지꿈. I keep hoping I will have one of these dreams, I am willing to believe if I win the lottery!

San Nakji for President!

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Wealth Creators?

I was listening to the radio and as usual it seems the right wing rules the waves. The host was complaining about high taxes and advocated cuts for the rich. His arguement was that those with the high wages are the wealth creators. Now I am sure he makes good money, but is he creating wealth in his job? Doubtful. Without him our economy still functions. The same goes for movie stars, sports stars, lawyers and even, if you think about it doctors... Basically what he is saying is nonsense. The salary you command has nothing to do with your usefulness to society...

San Nakji for President!

Elephant for Sale!

According to the latest New Scientist, a bloody good mag, the Zimbabwe government is planning to sell elephants to private citizens. The buyer must live in Zimbabwe and must have enough land to keep them. Going by the state of the current government, San Nakji is suspicious of the motives. According to the article, it is for wildlife farming... Now farming brings to mind cows, sheep and the like. Animals bred for meat. Is this what they are after? With their shattered economy are they encouraging the farming of elephants for meat and ivory? The animal lover in me is against this, but there is a part of me which can see the sense...
I have seen enough wildlife documentaries to know that elephants are much like humans. That is they destroy their environment. This of course causes problems for the elephant meaning they have to continually travel to find food. With the competition of humans, the elephant cannot win and generally suffers culls as a result. If elephant farming is encouraged, it may mean valuable money for the economy and a good way to control the elephant population...
Still most of me is against this. I have seen the way elephants treat their dead, they are accutely aware, perhaps even of their own mortality...

San Nakji for President!

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Winter Sonata Addict

Ok, so I found 겨울연가 (Winter Sonata) a little late. It seems to have been around for over a year. But now it is on KBS International I am addicted. When I first watched it, I was a little annoyed by it, but now I can't get enough! If you don't know the story, it is a little complicated, but basically it is this; A school girl falls for a new student in her school who is killed in a accident. Years later, she meets a guy who looks exactly like him and all her old feelings come back again, much to the annoyance of here fiance. It sounds a little lame, but I am enjoying it. It is also facinating to know that this was a huge hit in Japan and has been one of the major factors in raising the image of Korea over there. I think I have figured out what will happen at the end. One thing I have learned from years of Korean TV is that there are quite a few dramas that have a sad ending. I think Koreans like that kind of thing, something to do with 한 (Han). I am sure this will be a miserable ending....

San Nakji for President!

Is there anyone more crazy?

I was just reading on the BBC News site about a fresh massacre commited by the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. 20 people butchered to death with their own farming tools. Out of all the problem places in the world, this to me seems like the worst place. The leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, is just plain nuts. He is quoted as saying he wants to set up a state in Northern Uganda based on the 10 Commandments. This sounds ok, but I am sure he has violated all of them on a regular basis. His recruitment methods involve kidnapping children, forcing them to kill their own parents and then sending them into battle with no weapons. All very Christian I am sure. For a report on their practices click here. His 'troops' rape young girls indisciminantly and force them into sexual slavery. Of course this holy man, Joseph Kony, takes his pick of the girls to add to his group of wives. More than 16 years this has been going on and still this continues. While I am against the death penalty, this guy is a special case and should be wiped from this planet. Our friend, Tony Blair, in his presentation to the Labour party before the Iraq invasion said that he could not sit by and let the innocent suffer under the despotic regime of Saddam Hussein. Well, Tony, since you are such a leader in the field of human rights, why don't you do something about Uganda? Bring along your good buddy George and both of you can try to redeem yourselves by sorting out the most evil person on this planet... How many more have to die, how many more children have to have their lives destroyed? My feeling is that no one will lift a finger for this as for most Western countries, Africa isn't worth thinking about. Racism is alive and well in foreign policy.

San Nakji for President!

Monday, May 02, 2005

Mary Jane v Tobacco

A new study by the University of Auckland points out another risk of marijuana. Now, Sannakji does not really partake in drugs, although the occasional beer has been known to find its' way past my lips. I do not however, begrudge others should they want to partake in the weed. There does, however, seem to be an awful a lot of resources devoted to pointing out how bad it is, when these resources would be better used to figure out why tobacco is still around and worse still, legal. It seems ironic to me that on the one hand so much vitriol can be spouted about cannabis, whereas the cigarette companies continue to profit from their legal drug. If tobacco continues to be legal, which I cannot see changing, then there is no reason that cannabis should not be legal also. Tobacco seems to cause much worse problems for general health and therefore becomes a drain on our health dollars. It is hypocritical for governments to treat each differently. There may be an arguement that marijuana alters the mind, well so does alcohol, a wholey legal drug. At least with marijuana the smoker remains passive after smoking, while alcohol can and does cause agression and violence.
What does this mean? Well, if tobacco remains legal, then legalise marijuana! Use those police resources for solving real crimes...
Oh yeah, kids, don't do drugs, ok?

San Nakji for President!