Archive for the 'Other Topics' Category

I would like to get to know you better

Published
by
Jack
on November 7, 2007
in Other Topics
. 6 Comments

I know this is a crazy idea and may not go anywhere, but I am really interested in learning more about the bloggers and readers out there. I am sure others would be interested as well. No, I am not asking for personal information, but an interview of some kind. Stuff like what got you interested in your passion for blogs and/or blogging, your involvement in Korea and/or the region, etc.

I am open to E-mail or instant messenger. If you are interested, please let me know.

My contact information is on the top of the page.

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Yet another upgrade in progress

Published
by
Jack
on October 27, 2007
in Other Topics
. 0 Comments

Wordpress has a new version, so looks like I need to upgrade again. If something goes wrong, then you know why. Thanks for your patience.

Upgrade was a success.

Update: I got rid of the bulletin board due to lack of activity.

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I added BBPress for further disussions, and registrations are open

Published
by
Jack
on October 9, 2007
in Other Topics
. 0 Comments

Update: Looks like the comments already made cannot be exported to vBulletin unless I write something to do it. That also means the stats are going to be odd when exporting. There are a lot of potential problems with this setup, so looks like the idea is going to be scrapped, and things will remain the same.

I’ll place the forums back on partisanrhetoric.com and leaving it there. Sorry for the problems, because I thought this would be a nice idea to discuss things a little further. The forums integration should be disabled completely by tomorrow afternoon if not sooner.

Update 2: Forums are deactivated. Things are back to where they were.

Update 3: I added BBPress, and it seems to work a LOT better. I opened registration for readers, but registration is not required for comments on the blog. This is only of you wish to comment on the forums, make threads, or be part of this site. I look forward to any and all to register so we can learn more and discuss the issues a little further. Thanks!

Old post: The process is pretty tedious and murky, and do not know what is compatible or not in the way of plugins and such. The question remains, should readers wanting to comment have to register? So far it does not seem necessary unless I want to use vBulletin for the comments. That is of course, I allow that particular forum to use anonymous posting which is another possibility. I still have to ask questions of the author of this plugin to get a better understanding on how this works, and in the meantime, things will appear normal and posts/comments will not redirect you to vBulletin just yet.

Also, I would like to get readers’ feedback if this is a good idea or not, or if readers that do comment here would want to register to comment.

Thank you for your patience, and this is one of the reasons why regular, in depth postings have been sparse the last few days.

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Upgrade in process

Published
by
Jack
on September 24, 2007
in Other Topics
. 0 Comments

Wordpress 2.3 is out, and I would like to try the new features. Therefore, if you see quirks, things that do not look quite right, or something wrong, it is the upgrade process, so just to let you all know.

I do not know if the style will break, and if so, I will have to tweak it or find a style that works with the new version.

Ugh, the upgrade did not work. The formatting got all messed up. I’ll try again later.

Edit: Finally worked, and all the plugins work after some upgrades.

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Floods hit Pyongyang again (update)

Published
by
Jack
on September 21, 2007
in News, North Korea and Other Topics
. 0 Comments

It seems the years of deforesting, and mismanagement of the Kim regime are taking its toll:

Storms caused by Typhoon Wipha lashed the country late on Thursday, causing widespread flooding and cutting transport links.

State media said rice and other crops were lost as the rains inundated western provinces and the capital, Pyongyang

Almost 37 cm of rain was recorded in the provinces of South Hwanghae, South Phyongan and North Hwanghae in one day.

It is difficult to say how much more the impoverished country can take, and if Kim does not shape up and fly right (eg Syrian connection) things could get very bad for Kim Jong Il. Something is up, and Syria visiting Pyongyang just adds to the suspicion. I am very sure they are not talking about what they had for dinner last night.

More updates - Looks like the situation is getting worse, according to the KCNA anyway:

Rice and other crops were lost as rains spawned by Typhoon Wipha inundated western provinces and the capital Pyongyang in the past three days, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It said the new downpours had caused “heavy losses in many sectors” of the economy and some areas damaged by last month’s floods had again been hit.

Kim Un-Chol, deputy head of North Korea’s Red Cross Society, said diseases were spreading because of the damage to hospitals and other infrastructure in the impoverished state caused by the August rains.

“What we are most concerned about now is disease outbreaks,” he was quoted as saying by Chosun Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan.

“Many patients are suffering from diarrhoea,” Kim said, adding that water treatment facilities had been contaminated.

Health facilities were “in miserable condition” with 562 hospitals wrecked and 2,100 clinics damaged. “Drug stores were inundated and all medicines there were soaked and ruined.”

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So I got a subscription to the New York Times archives

Published
by
Jack
on September 15, 2007
in History, North Korea and Other Topics
. 3 Comments

I cannot reproduce the articles in full, but I am now able to gain more insight to the past North Korea than before. The first I grabbed was a July 24, 1980 article on when Kim Jong Il was named the successor. An interesting part of the article was this part:

“I bought this picture last year” Mrs. Pak said.

…

The addition of this relatively new dual portrait to probably hundreds of thousands of homes across this country

According to this, it seems to me Kim Jong Il’s cult of personality started before he was officially named the successor if this citizen bought this portrait the year before. Since this is how the shift in power Kim Il Sung did things, it seems to me Kim Jong Il is really slow on naming the next successor which is mired in speculation. Yes, it has been rumored Kim Jong Il has forbidden the talk of the next successor, but if it does not happen soon, the shift of power will not happen slow enough, and therefore, the time for the shift of adoration may not work as well as the last succession from Kim Il Sung to kim Jong Il.

What is also interesting is the official that was unnamed did not like the idea of calling it a “dynasty” in which in all common sense was. With the neo-Confucianism overlaid with communism, it is very obvious that it was so. Also, Hwang Jang Yop suggested about the feudal type of government, which is mocked at here:

…”began to write his rise is a sign of feudalism in our state.”

No kidding? I have no idea who he was trying to convince, the reader or the person asking the silly question. This type of spin, denial and downright silliness is very typical of Pyongyang. Nothing has changed at all, and day in and day out have to deal with the murkiness of the Juche regime.

In any case, I will contact the New York Times how much I can reproduce or what they consider fair use, and will share with you good readers on the history of Korea. This should get very interesting indeed.

Update: Looks like I can use 25 words or less on a blog posting. If i want more, I am going to have to get written permission.

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