It Lunar New Year. Homecoming to see family. Any out of town becomes a journey worthy of Exodus to the land of Canaan. My family lives in Seoul and meets during the Gregorian New Year. It avoids the perilous escapades and hours of stressful driving.
Some pictures to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge (remember, this is the round trip in caps):
the west of Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, lies the town of Talas and the eponymous river. In 751 Chinese Tang and Abbasid Arabs, then in full expansionist wars battled over its banks. The Chinese defeat scored both western boundaries (so far at least) of the Middle Kingdom - too far from its bases - those Arabs who have never gone further east. Chinese prisoners have passed the secret of paper and probably the compass to the Arabs.
But what is more preposterous is that the Chinese were led by a Korean Goguryeo, Xianzhi Gao (高 仙芝 , 고선지), which is quite remarkable for an ethnic minority, succeeded the rank of general. His father was also a general of Goguryeo conquered by the Tang-Silla alliance. He participated in the Chinese countryside to subdue Central Asia and Xinjiang today. He died beheaded.
The other unusual aspect is that this part of the history of China was covered by Bo Yang, a Taiwanese historian, who became famous especially by imprisoning her by Chiang Kai-shek, whom he had paid the head through translations of ... Popeye!
It is probably the most sordid news I've heard so far. A high school student, sued for defamation, has killed himself by jumping from her apartment building Tuesday morning. 14 years old at the time, the boy had insulted a lawyer on the forum of online game Lineage . The accused insisted to his parents that he was in no way the author of the defamatory statements. Police say the player became a member of the virtual network using the national identification number of his father in 2006. The lawyer filed a complaint with the police under the Telecommunications Act in response to remarks made by high school student. The police denied the request, ruling that the father of the schoolboy was not the perpetrator. The lawyer decided to sue for damages réclammation against the father in 2008. The court ordered the father to pay the sum of one million won (about 570 euros) for failing to prevent her son from committing this sin. Dissatisfied with this paltry sum, the lawyer decided to appeal. The alleged defamatory remarks had to issue an official apology to the court, seeing the situation fester. the lawyer was "Confused" following the announcement of adolescent suicide. He asserts to have dropped the charges laid against the father on January 15 this year following the financial difficulties encountered by the family of the deceased.
The online video game Lineage is apparently meet in his bosom a gaggle of idiots whose sole purpose is financial gain. Created by NCsoft in 1998, the massively multiplayer online has collected up to three million followers in South Korea. Some speak of virtual drugs. It is among the players a large number of minors and persons unemployed. Addicts can stay connected to several days later. Lineage has ruined the careers of such talented footballer Joonso GB . The particular game lies in the opportunity to buy and sell items between players for his avatar. The drifts are so easy to imagine. In 2003, for example, a youngster of 17 years and three acolytes defrauded the tidy sum of 140 million won (around 80,000 euros) to 350 players fanatics. The criminals have sold goods to fictitious unbeatable prices. Some unusual objects can actually be sold for 5 million won (about 2,800 euros) each. To avoid this kind of ploy, of websites offer services exclusively clearing house for transactions of items online. But money is not only the only means of payment. Cases of transfer of objects or characters in exchange for sexual favors were identified by police. Fortunately, the phenomenon seems to dry up: the number of connections has plummeted largely due to the release of new online games including ... Lineage II.
There were six deaths on Tuesday and about twenty wounded after a demonstration organized by shopkeepers of the area affected Hangangro-2ga Yongsan district. Firefighters found the bodies inside a building destroyed by fire. How did it get this dramatic result?
In May 2008, the City of Seoul announced the development of Yongsan Link, a massive project intended to link the railway station in Yongsan National Museum of Korea with green spaces and huge towers that Koreans are very fond of. The basement, twice as large as the COEX in Samsung-dong in Kangnam, like house Les Halles Paris a true whole city with its share of cultural centers, department stores, hotels and other places of commerce.
Yongsan Link (current Yongsan Station is visible at the top of the photo)
Developers, builders, owners, all rub their hands at the thought of such a project building in the heart of Seoul, the only place without a real commercial and residential area renowned because of U.S. military bases scattered around the Yongsan district. All? No, a small group of diehards, mostly small traders, determination request with more substantial financial compensation following the closure of their businesses. The neighborhood, once thriving small shops, restaurants and a small permanent market-like bazaar, is now complete. The bulldozers raided the premises in recent months. When a project of this scale is on the horizon, bullying takes precedence over rapid trading. The former owners of the district have simply turned their tenants, driven to declare termination of business. Their compensation, if any, are trivial. Difficult in these conditions to remain idle. 120 people still live in places so that demolition is underway.
Protesters visibly unhappy
Since work began, some forty people demonstrated around the neighborhood without causing major upsets. Monday morning, protesters decided to take action by locking themselves inside a five-storey building in the neighborhood. Armed with stones and projectiles, irreducible pushed relentlessly all attempts to approach employees of demolition companies and forces order. Following the arrival of special forces of police and a crane to reach the upper floors, the demonstrators released the explosive and jerry cans of flammable and combustible liquids. The seat rotates to the drama with the roof on fire. Eventually five demonstrators and a policeman will be found dead under the rubble.
Why, in your face!
The demonstrators were also fitted with launchers projectiles effective
"Descent" Air Force special police
The fire on the roof
incorrigible
This drama falls ill. President Lee had just Myungbak Seokki appoint Kim to lead the National Police Agency. It reproaches including the former police chief of Seoul's violent and authoritarian management during demonstrations to spark anti-American beef. Godsend for the opposition. "The first realization (Kim) at the head of the National Police is the bloody repression against ordinary citizens, "exclaimed the voice of the Democratic Party. The opposition parties demanding the immediate resignation of those responsible for this case.
The Yongsan area, usually calm and fluid, was tonight still paralyzed.
In seeking an alternative to my holiday in Southeast Asia is that I came across (to be honest, it was front page of a major national daily) that appointments typically Korean.
January 7 to February 1, fans of brown trout can both exercise their talent and meet a fisherman their taste buds at Ice Festival in Hwacheon Sancheoneo (Gangwon Province). Based on the river Hwacheongang, the event attracts over one million participants (up to 135 000 visitors per day on weekends) desperate to capture the so-called "queen of the valleys." Holes scattered throughout the river froze 2km in length and 100 meters wide are available to festival goers. The brave will try to catch the trout with bare hands very agile while others use the more traditional method of fishing rod. Incidentally, the place turns into a gigantic open-air canteen: sushi and sashimi of all kinds can be enjoyed in an ever-growing crowd.
As strong as the track was
Decidedly in the Land of Morning Calm, we like to do things in groups
been criticized a lot for Koreans to copy without too much shame pubs, screenplays, music and video (when these are not high-tech ...) to retrain fresh in their own products, and regardless of the problem disproportionately Copyright.
I am not at all by myself an advocate of copyright (I do not even dab evil, really.) That said ... Korean publicists do they lack so much imagination, and pride?
Pub Original - Herpes - Water Wonderland
Korean Bars - Poori Bank - Credit Card any
little bonus for you, dear readers: logo SK Broad Band image below reminds you there is something?
merrily pedaling, it's for a good cause. Election in Kyrgyzstan
China is the country's cycling, it c is safe. Tired of pedaling, the Chinese have adopted the electric bike, two pedal strokes, and Fine, passes Tiananmen in no time, just enough to send a smile to Mao. But since the Olympics, the Chinese government is seriously green. The evidence in this new initiative: the bikes, instead of consuming electricity, produce. Explanations. The old neighborhood in recent years have at their disposal all sorts of gear for their colorful early morning gym, including exercise bikes outdoors. A real train gladiators arena. Recently, therefore, grannies need a little more focus on their pedal strokes and less chat with their neighbor, because that depends on their breath production electricity for the poor. Imagine a row of 6 Pekingese can produce 180 watts per hour ... a battery connected to 6 bikes, if it is fully charged, can power a TV for 10 to 11 hours. Allez hop! At work! After the cartons grannies, grannies and grandmas trash cutting grass cutting (Korea) grannys pedal ... what we do not make it useful for our venerable elders.
There are few this month, Bishkekois (Bishkek?) Elected their deputies. The city apparently has a parliament, but absolutely none of my colleagues have voted, the voting statistics show yet more than 90% of voters ... Not understanding
unfortunately little Russian, I'll just put some evocative photos of local politicians. There's the gratin.
A general, a
Total relaxation family it always pays!
President of the Association of Kyrgyz stunt (!?)
A cracked
And my favorite, General Alcazar
More info about him: http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=320
I have not could put them all, y 'are hundreds, literally hundreds!
Samuel Huntington has passed away. Without the wikipedia is a product of the American elite, Yale, Harvard and the whole shebang. He also served in the Carter administration as White House coordinator of Security Planning for the National Security Council "- when was Brzenziksi NSA. Whole program.
Returning on one of these books, the famous "clash of civilizations" released in 1994. This "firebrand" thrown like a stone into the pool of optimism after the melting of the Soviet threat was meant to be a response to current mondialo-internationalists such as the theory of liberal peace echoed by Fukuyama (who gives the passage layer: http://the-american-interest.com/contd/?p=688 ).
From the preface, Huntington has the honesty to inform us that his book is not a work of social science. Mean by then it will only fill one third of each page with quotes instead of the half. What is still sixth extra to give free rein to his imagination, if not his fantasies. Sure to keep up suspense, but he is careful to reveal the character "cheap sci-fi" that the reader will learn quite quickly.
This small side "War of the Worlds," refreshing, will also maintain the interest aroused between two yawning caused by long and tedious enumerations. This coastal country name painful observed under different prisms (religion, ethnicity, language, culture, shoe size etc ...) at least has the merit of playing the 7 mistakes most steadfast among us.
The author keeps the brush tangled in contradictions (there are fewer Christians in the world, ah yes but there are 50 million Christians in China) or stupid (he there would be fewer English speakers on earth) by pasting quotes contradictory, placed end to end, manage to do more or less fall on his feet.
In the first 150 pages, it should be noted that Portugal is not in Europe, the China was the 2 nd economic power (in 94) and other approximations on Central Asia (also Brzenziksi repeated two years later in "The Grand Chessboard," which recalls the good word by Bruce Cumings "the circle of international relations in the U.S. are ten people who cite each other). They have no blacks at Harvard and Co. to reread the work of teachers who sweeten strawberries?
Huntington does not hesitate to ride the wave of all subjects in vogue in the 90's (Asian values, China's awakening, declining the West, Islamic threat, regionalism in Asia etc ...), without providing nothing (which demonstrates the evils of reward "scholars" to the weight of their writings). The whole evokes the frame of a bad SAS
But what is frankly laughable, it's stinking side generals, cliches, this Manichaean vision that strikes us as possible to calmly, even for a U.S.. (The very constipating) Edward Said was blowing about it (very good "Popeye"!) In this article http://www.nawaat.org/portail/2005/02/02/le-choc-de -lignorance / .
This reminds Peyrefitte who at 73 already, we announced the Apocalypse on 500 pages warning us of the fact that every day there are more and more Chinese, or more seriously, in Desproges his pamphlet dangerously xenophobic "foreigners are zero" panicked - without moving the ears - to see that every day there were more and more foreigners in the World ...
I right even hard to believe that this guy, certainly also can have very bright ideas as limited and simplistic realities of this world. Why such a pile of nonsense? Whose crime will profit on? Would that work order requested by reactionary groups whose prospects for peaceful too liberal theories would run contrary to their interests?
Korean Result of a survey that is worth its weight in peanuts.
"Let the new recruit's first glass vacuum even if it does not consume alcohol" - Yonhap News
"A newcomer who does not drink alcohol but empties his first drink and who leaves office before his superior after asking if there's work to be assigned will be appreciated by his superiors. "
This is the type of answers given by human resource managers about the problems faced in the workplace by young recruits. Following the survey conducted by recruitment site incruit.com among 234 human resource managers, 79.5% (186 people) responded in the affirmative to the question "do you have new hires that you like?". 51.6% of respondents gave as their main reason "mentality happy and positive" 38.7% and "his sincere and caring attitude."
When a new recruit is offered alcohol when she did not consume, 66.7% of HR managers call it "drinking the first glass of courtesy and to avoid glasses following the best as possible. " 'Set the mood by making the show as an alcoholic' (16.7%) and 'politely refuse a drink under the pretext of not drinking alcohol' (15.4%) methods are relatively not very popular.
Regarding the departure time of late at work despite the presence of his superior, "and ask 'Can I help you with anything?" and await the orders of his superior "was the answer most often cited. 'Turning presence until the superior partner' (15.4%) and 'leave early by notifying his superior' (11.5%) are examples of low response advised.
In case of 'late for work after waking up late', it is strongly recommended to "call his boss to explain honestly the reason for the delay and gain his benevolence" (78.2%). "Call a colleague to ask him to apologize to his superior" (7.7%) and "offer drinks and snacks for his team to repantir after arriving at the office" (2.6%) are acts avoid.
In South Korea, do not know drinking alcohol can be a major handicap in the workplace. Alcoholic evenings are not only the preserve of business and trades 'male' for business. Another form of ethyl slip remains within the workplace. Good or bad news will be the perfect excuse to organize hwaesik (literally 'food group'), washed down dinner with colleagues when the currency business and foils of drinks are the trademark. We talk, we eat, but mostly they drink. The team leader is often the cause of this mobilization so-called professional history to enhance the troops or support the integration it for new entrants. We note in passing the approval of the systematic small sub-chief, specializing in bows at 90 degrees. Depending on the type of establishment and patron, the frequency of these gatherings may be extended at will without being happy. The
hwaesiks thus represent the fear of many employees, especially for women. The presence of the young recruit is mandatory. Difficult for others to escape the rule, especially if the department head is there. Drink without flinching is an exercise in style. Young able to align at least three bottles of soju and bel canto to sing like karaoke, indispensable extension of hwaesik idyllic receive the blessing of his superiors. However, the person refusing to "cooperate" to take his degree. A good show that reminds us how it is sometimes difficult to make love in the land of morning calm. A
France24 reportage can become familiar with this practice and to understand the ends and outs.