"...blaze like meteors and be GAY! Do not go gentle into that good night..."(and other news)

The Maximum Leader presents his thorough reply to my post and the Minister of Agriculture's. Most of the Maximum Leader's reply seems directed to (or maybe I should say AT!) the M of A; I imagine this is because the M of A, sharing more of a historical-political background with the Maximum Leader, was able to frame arguments that were meaningful and relevant to him-- i.e., able to hit him where he lives. Arguments from metaphysics tend to put a lot of folks to sleep, so I thank the Maximum Leader for nevertheless taking the time to consider and address some important aspects of my own argument.

The Swedes reject the euro! I'm actually pleased, though I can't say why. Maybe I'm becoming more convinced by the argument that a "United States of Europe" was a fallacy from the beginning. Now, if someone could convince Tony Blair to go anti-euro as well...

Is Hurricane Isabel heading for my hometown? To my friends and family near DC: BE CAREFUL, AND BE PREPARED. (link via Tacitus)

What to expect from a Cat 5 hurricane:

Category Five Hurricane:
Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destructon of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Hurricane Mitch of 1998 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity over the western Caribbean. Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is one of the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones of record.

Roof failure. Terrific. Make sure you're in the BASEMENT. Watch where the trees in the yard might fall. Look around for light, loose items that might fly into windows.

More NK rhetoric found here!

A Columbia University prof attacks Bush's fiscal policy in the Korea Herald.

Kevin at IA gives his Korea round-up. He also asks, in a different post:

...what the fuck is with Koreans believing that sporting events have any practical impact on peace, prosperity, diplomacy, or politics? Do they believe that the ping-pong diplomacy of the early 70's was the rule rather than the exception? Have opinions of the South Korean diplomatic corps sunk so low that they'd rather invest hope in meaningless athletic events than face the continual disappointment of seeing their own diplomats slapped around by the Norks time after time?

Yeah, one has to wonder.

The Vulture offers a meaty post on Korean prostitution and other matters. A very good read.

The Seeing Eye Blog offers the Most Incomprehensible Headline of the Day.

Free North Korea! offers some indication that China is getting a bit more stern in how it guards its border with NK. By the way, I consider the Free North Korea! blog to be one gigantic argument against the fallacy that North and South remain "one people." Sure, NK and SK share certain similarities that trace back centuries. But the Kim Dynasty undid so much of this that I no longer feel the "one people" rhetoric is anything more than lip service to a myth. The Koreas could, in theory, become "one people" again, but the process will take more than decades, I think.

Party Pooper offers a glimpse of gay Korea with its Gaywatch post.

In hetero news (I think): Indian scientists unveil... a sex robot?

And... that's about it for this evening, folks.
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