• Went to Ukrainian festival. Ate Ukrainian food and drank Obolon #
• going to Wal-Mart and buying ammo in bulk doesn't make me a redneck, does it? #
• making peppermint chocolate chip scones #
• Shut down Red Lobster! Endless Shrimp is an abomination to the Lord! #
• Tracy and I are going to tryout for The Amazing Race. Together we are unstoppable. #
• YEAH ANGELS! #
• ugh I want to move back to CA. Did you see that weather in Anaheim? East coast sucks. #
• Dentist appointment then three hours of Russian. Could this day get any better? #
• This game sucks…and I am really craving a Carl's Jr. Western bacon cheeseburger with a side of onion rings. Damn stadium ads. #
• Ленин — жил, Ленин — жив, Ленин — будет жить! #
• Possible two day trip to Chernobyl in summer 2010…who's down? #
• US Imperialists visit Pyongyang park, impromptu dance party ensues http://su.pr/6I7FYw #
• You know what I hate? PowerPoint presentations. #
• Would you pay $4.95 to see Dubya give a "motivational" speech? http://bit.ly/2mi6aT #
• WAY TO GO SCIOSCIA #
• Why yes, my rally monkey is sitting right next to me on the couch #
• HALOS WIN! Great game #
• I live vicariously through myself. #
• Hello, burrito coma #
• LOL! RT @FakeAPStylebook: Always capitalize 'Bible.' You don't want to get letters from those people. #
• Hoping the weather holds up tomorrow morning so I can break in the new shotgun. If I lived in California, this wouldn't be a problem. #
• Put 100 rounds through the new shotgun this morning. Works beautifully. Thank you weather for cooperating! #
• Had a mini PDHS class of 2000 reunion tonight in DC #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Help…lost in corn maze. Need flare gun #
• Angels sweep sox! MLB iPhone app live streaming FTW! #
• Sporting clays, smores, West Virginia, and the Halos sweeping the Red Sox…another lovely fall weekend #
• eating a peanut butter chocolate cupcake for breakfast to make up for the fact that we don't get Columbus Day off. #
• All I want for Christmas is a Freeway Series (and Angels win) #
• I really don't want to sit through three hours of Russian #
• At work, even though @bobmcdonnell thinks I shouldn't be! #
• Krispy Kreme pumpkin donuts for breakfast courtesy @pointerj #
• This weather sucks #
• I want to make Glenn Beck cry. What do I need to do to accomplish this? #
• 3g in the metro…finally #
• I'd rather be in SoCal #
• Looking forward to Angels vs Yankees tonight. Better not get rained out. #
• nice one Dodgers #
• Driving outside the Beltway to Fredericksburg…scary #
• Only person here not wearing camo #
• Now the proud owner of a 12 gauge beretta shotgun. Yes even my firearms are elitist Europeans #
• Going to see Jon Stewart at GW! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

A few days ago there was a segment on NPR about North Korea. The correspondent had actually been allowed into North Korea, but from what I could tell they are basically shown the exact same thing as us regular tourists. I really should have pursued that foreign correspondent career. I could have been getting paid to go to North Korea instead of using my own funds. Also, I wouldn’t have to dress up for work. C’est la vie.

Anyways, in the past week there have been two interesting WashPost articles about North Korea. The first concerns the crew of the USS Pueblo and their efforts to sue the North Korean government for the torture they endured after their ship was captured by the North Korean navy in 1968:

William Thomas Massie’s nightmares almost always begin in a dusty prison cell. His arms are lashed behind his back, and North Korean guards are karate-chopping his neck, kicking his groin and ankles, and smashing his face with fists and rifle butts.

The frigid room is illuminated only by tannin-tinted light trickling through newspaper-covered windows. The guards are screaming. One thrusts an assault rifle into Massie’s mouth. The soldier’s finger is on the trigger. Sweat stings Massie’s eyes. He is terrified.

The second article details North Korea’s expansion of its special forces and their adoption of terrorist tactics used in Afghanistan and Iraq:

In a conflict, tens of thousands of special forces members would try to infiltrate South Korea: by air in radar-evading biplanes, by ground through secret tunnels beneath the demilitarized zone (DMZ), and by sea aboard midget submarines and hovercraft, according to South Korean and U.S. military analysts.

Disguised in the uniforms of South Korean police and military personnel, special forces are also expected to try to walk into Seoul. Dressed as civilians, they may also arrive aboard passenger flights from Beijing and other foreign capitals.

“These are not your standard North Korean guys,” Bechtol said. “They are the best-trained, best-fed and most indoctrinated soldiers in the North. They know how to fight, and if they are caught, they are trained to kill themselves.”

[...]

Their low-tech, low-cost training includes throwing knives, firing poisonous darts and running up steep hills wearing backpacks filled with 60 pounds of rocks and sand, said Ha Tae-jun, a former South Korean commando who has debriefed captured members of the North’s special forces. They are also drilled in street warfare, chemical attacks, night fighting, martial arts, car theft and using spoons and forks as weapons, say South Korean government reports and military experts.

Beware North Korean soldiers wielding spoons…

More North Korea posts coming up when I can find the time to sit down and write them, but in the meantime here is the latest from the Korean Central News Agency. This might be the best one yet.

Extraordinary Observation

Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) — President Kim Il Sung gave field guidance to the Oryu Co-op Farm, Sadong District, Pyongyang one day in June Juche 63 (1974).

He went to a cabbage field where the cabbage grew well.

He stepped into the field regardless of muddy ground with a bright smile on his face. Suddenly he stooped himself to see a head of cabbage carefully.

Those accompanying him turned their doubtful eyes to the cabbage. Its leaves had only fine luster.

After a while the President asked a farm official whether the cabbage had been hit by hailstones.

At that moment the official was very surprised.

Actually the cabbages had suffered a slight damage from hail when young.

However, the cabbages were unusually in good condition so that it was difficult to find the marks of damage.

The President found out instantly the marks that even the peasants and experts could hardly do.

The officials were deeply moved by his extraordinary observation.

• @flightblogger what are you going to PSP for??? My hometown! in reply to flightblogger #
• Brickskeller! (a real bar) #
• How did I get on the Ladies' Home Journal e-mail list? "Snuggle-Up Suppers for Fall" WTF?!?! I think that requires using a stove… #
• @mjanderson Oh, I do…I'd just rather have someone else do the cooking! in reply to mjanderson #
• Finally uploaded the 1,300 photos from North Korea. Only took me three weeks: http://su.pr/35cZTa #
• Free London fog latte ftw #
• Tonight's class covered "getting married in Russia". Must now acquire Russian husband. #
• Omg two dudes on metro wearing Texas flag shirts and American flag bandanas. DC tourists never cease to amuse me. #
• I really wish there was a Krispy Kreme by my office #
• @pointerj ah, but sometimes you just want a pumpkin donut and coffee from Krispy Kreme still have to try the fro-yo place! in reply to pointerj #
• Put the French vanilla creamer in your coffee. It's just like being in a Parisian cafe. Or not. #
• Angels vs Red Sox in exactly 12 hours… #
• hired a shooting instructor. next stop: olympics. then glory. #
• Wooo Torii Hunter! #
• ANGELS WIN! #
• YO OBAMA, I'MMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT MIKHAIL SERGEYEVICH GORBACHEV WAS THE BEST NOBEL PRIZE WINNER OF ALL TIME. #
• FYI, stay away from hot sauce called "Satan's Blood" #
• When a Big Oil lobbyist e-mails you photos of polar bears hugging dogs and writes "this made my day", you really start to worry about them #
• Looking forward to game 2 tonight. Go Angels! #
• Why do random people always ask me where the nearest gas station is?do I have big oil written on my forehead or what? #
• Another halo victory! #
• Up way too early on a Saturday, drinking coffee, and off to Centreville to go shooting #
• Yeeeah I don't mean to brag, but I was hitting a lot of the harder clays that the guys kept missing… #
• Headed to West Virginia #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Just finished breakfast…chocolate chip and peanut butter pancakes #
• Are people in NJ too dumb to pump their own gas? #
• In my mailbox: "Do you trust oil companies and trophy hunters with the fate of the polar bear? Sign the petition to save polar bears." #
• mussels, frites, beer, and chocolate…just like Belgium! #
• Arirang Festival Mass Games – 100,000 North Koreans performing for the Dear Leader: http://su.pr/9aF2Dm #
• really looking forward to alumni weekend! #
• anyone want to play floor hockey on Thursday nights? #
• Ugh it's cold #
• I am eating candy corn for breakfast. Yes, fall has officially arrived! #
• Wish I had thought of Chop't. I'd be sitting on a beach in Costa Rica right now… #
• I like my sugar with coffee and cream #
• I love sweet tea vodka and shuffleboard #
• Strange being back on the GW campus #
• GW WHERE IS MY GODDAMN BRICK??? #
• Found my damn brick!!! #
• Drinking beer and eating chocolate covered bacon #
• Jumped around on an inflatable joust arena with a giant chicken #
• @mjanderson you wish you lived in pentagon city! in reply to mjanderson #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Communist hotels are usually the best hotels: http://su.pr/90seoq #
• North Korea's version of Coca Cola (now with more crabonation!): http://su.pr/1wV9fe #
• not looking forward to three hours of Russian tonight #
• A good cause to send some $ / € / £ / ¥ / etc to: http://www.saveweave.org #
• There are way too many crazy people in DC #
• North Korean amusement parks are far superior to Disneyland: http://su.pr/7hpfgC #
• @jesssteyers Koryo Tours…highly recommend them if you are planning a trip to the DPRK! in reply to jesssteyers #
• @LiberateLaura we tried our best Thanks for the RT! in reply to LiberateLaura #
• @jesssteyers was there sept 8-12. Our guides were two mr kims and a ms lee in reply to jesssteyers #
• New jersey turnpike = Frustrated Californian #
• IRISH WEEKEND! #
• We need Wawa in Arlington #
• You wish you were Irish! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• So nice to see obama's smiling face when you clear customs #
• @mjanderson koryo air, the state owned airline in reply to mjanderson #
• a burrito never tasted so good… #
• I am going to apply for "Real Housewives of DC" #
• "We need honest politicians, not communist czars!" LOLWTF? #
• ugh, is it time to go back to Costa Rica yet? #
• I think I will move to Belgium. So civilized there, and great beer, chocolate, and fries with mayo. What's not to love? #
• A burrito beats kimchi anyday #
• Ridiculous that VA requires a safety inspection every freakin year #
• Thinking it might be fun to crash the values voter summit #
• DC tourists are ridiculous. Just say no to fanny packs. #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Interesting article in the latest Fortune magazine about the opening of a new university in Pyongyang, North Korea that offers an MBA degree:

[James] Kim will lead a delegation of 200 dignitaries from around the world to North Korea for the dedication of the first privately funded university ever allowed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).

The school will have an international faculty educating, eventually, around 600 graduate students. Kim dreams ultimately of hosting an industrial park around the PUST campus, drawing firms from around the world — a North Korean version, as bizarre as it sounds, of Palo Alto or Boston’s Route 128.

There will be Internet access for all, connecting the students to an outside world that they’ve heretofore been instructed is a hostile and dangerous place. And among the six departments will be a school of industrial management.

“We ended up not calling it an ‘MBA program,’” jokes David Kim (no relation to James), a former Bechtel and Pacific Gas & Electric executive who has relocated to Pyongyang to help set up PUST, “because they [the North Koreans] think it sounds vaguely imperialistic.”

Huh. Never would have imagined that. I wonder if they require the GMAT?

• was almost killed on a North Korean rollercoaster but managed to escape the country alive. Now in Beijing, back to the US tomorrow. #

Powered by Twitter Tools.