Friday, December 06, 2024
Thursday, December 05, 2024
Ave, Charles!
Back from the States, Charles brings the liminal melancholy. This provoked some thoughts that I might want to share.
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
martial law now un-declared
Conservative President Yoon Seok-yeol has rescinded his declaration of martial law in the face of enormous opposition from the left-dominated National Assembly as well as fellow conservative lawmakers and a large swath of the citizenry. Troops have been seen departing from the National Assembly building in Yeouido after having been told to stand down.
Yoon’s popularity began to drop as soon as he assumed his role as president. Some of the reason may have been his perceived mistakes; other reasons are undoubtedly linked to relentless opposition and lawfare from leftist politicians intent on stopping Yoon's conservative agenda. Scandals, true or manufactured, have been a hallmark of his lone term in office (Korean presidents serve only one 5-year term). Yoon’s famously over-surgeried wife has herself been involved in several scandals (Dior bag, influence peddling, stocks).
What happens from here? Yoon is hampered by a fickle South Korean public as well as by a vociferous leftist opposition; people are calling for him to step down. If he can manage a deal granting him and his wife immunity with minimal financial penalties, he might want to consider stepping down as an option.
Please note that these are merely my thoughts. I am not a journalist and have, at best, a child's grasp of South Korean politics. From my limited perch, it seems clear that Yoon lacks the mandate of the people, and he has neither the savvy nor the legal firepower to turn the situation to his advantage. I wish him luck, but this sudden outburst had the feeling of a man desperately flailing. Maybe the left's unceasing assaults on him and his associates finally got to him; maybe there's something legitimately scandalous going on. I don't know, and I think the Korean general public doesn't know, either.
At least I'll be able to finish my walk without worrying about a curfew.
martial law in South Korea
My buddy Mike texted me to say President Yoon has declared martial law in South Korea (I've been asleep). No curfew or anything as of yet; the opposition is accusing Yoon of an authoritarian move. I'll be resting on the trail all day Wednesday; we'll see what this means practically for us proles over the next 24 hours.
UPDATE: here's a Reuters/AP report, quoted in full:
South Korea Parliament Overturns Martial Law
South Korea's parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, passed a motion on Wednesday requiring the martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol to be lifted, live TV showed.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a late-night address broadcast on South Korea’s YTN news channel on Dec. 3.
Yoon, a member of the country’s People Power party, said martial law was necessary because his political opposition, which controls South Korea’s national assembly, had hindered government work.
“They are paralyzing the judiciary by intimidating judges and impeaching a large number of prosecutors, and even paralyzing the executive branch by impeaching the minister of public administration and security, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the minister of national defense,” Yoon said.
The South Korean president further accused his political opposition of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called the martial law declaration “illegal and unconstitutional” and called on South Korean citizens to gather at the national assembly in opposition.
Yoon won office in 2022 but has struggled since then to advance his agenda through the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
The South Korean president has recently clashed with the opposition over the national budget. He has also rebuffed calls for investigations into his wife’s stock trading activities and allegations she has accepted luxury gifts.
It’s not clear how long Yoon’s martial law declaration can last. Under South Korean law, martial law orders can be lifted with a majority vote in the parliament. However, the martial law proclamation states that political activities, including those of the National Assembly, are currently prohibited.
The martial law proclamation also impacts news publications in the country.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New vocabulary:
to declare martial law = 계엄령을 선포하다 (gye-eom-nyeong-eul seonpo-hada)
I'd better be careful what I write here. Luckily for me, I almost never comment on Korean politics these days. In the meantime, you're better off consulting non-Korean sources of news. And it's possible the martial-law thing may already be over unless Yoon elects to use force to maintain martial law. We'll see. All I can do for now is sleep on it.
Tuesday, December 03, 2024
the wake-up call
I know most of Europe is chargined that they'll have to deal with Trump again. He was right, though, wasn't he, about things like German (and the greater EU's) dependence on Russian gas. Laugh all you want, Europe, but Trump has your number, and he's got a far better team this time around, no matter how the left tries to fuck things up for him. I hope he goes into his lame-duck term with an I-don't-care-let's-burn-it-all-down attitude. Let the left scream and wail and whine all it wants to. Maybe lefties will finally keep their vows to leave the country.
"no one is above the law"
No one is Above the Law. Except for the Biden Family.pic.twitter.com/s6oD5Jny3S
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) December 2, 2024
“This week, of course, Hunter Biden was found guilty, & Joe Biden has very clearly said he would not pardon his son, he would not commute his sentence. How stark is this difference? I mean, how can Republicans keep making this argument now that Joe Biden has really put it out… https://t.co/VD6NUDNXgx
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 2, 2024
Monday, December 02, 2024
images
 |
| The tail flicks... for John Wick. |
 |
| I never knew this. Interesting if true. |
 |
| Revenge of the Unfuckables. Or: When Incels Pretend They Have a Choice. |
the pardon we knew was coming
Might be my favorite one so far. pic.twitter.com/LiuKXNLrcP
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) December 2, 2024
construction workers vs. bodybuilders
Before I watched the vid, I bet on the bodybuilders.
You may have noticed, though, that there's some crossover between the two teams, which complicates the issue.
Sunday, December 01, 2024
Saturday, November 30, 2024
maybe it should be yellow
Make sure the dye has something that only shows up under black light. Prevent "I am Spartacus" moments before they start.
What do ya think? Should we start doing this here in America? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2bl0OgVhJ4
— Jannine.. #MagaMemeQueen ™️ 👑🇺🇸 (@janninereid1) November 29, 2024
to the people who didn't see this election coming
Konstantin Kisin with some Monday-morning quarterbacking:
Friday, November 29, 2024
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
