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Post-320: "This Person is a Korean." (He Is?)

8/9/2015

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This appeared in a Korean language textbook (with my English translation):

다음의 내용과 같은 것을 고르십시오.

제 부모님은 한국 사람이니다. 그러나 저는 미국에서 태어났습니다. 그래서 한국어가 서툽니다. 내년 한국에 가서 한국어를 배우려고 합니다. 

(1) 이 사람은 한국 사람입니다. 
(2) 이 사람은 미국에 갈 겁니다. 
(3) 이 사람은 한국어를 잘합니다.  
(4) 이 사람은 영어를 배울 겁니다.
Choose the correct statement based on the passage.

My parents are Koreans. However, I was born in the USA so my Korean is poor. Next year I am going to Korea to study Korean.

(1) This person is a Korean.
(2) This person is going to the USA.
(3) This person speaks Korean well.
(4) This person is going to learn English.

A puzzling question with no apparent correct answer. 

The textbook insists that there is a correct answer. The back of the book even explains "why" it is allegedly the correct answer, precluding the possibility of a misprint/typo. 

Can you guess the answer?
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Post-319: Worst U.S. Presidents

8/8/2015

1 Comment

 
Who likes an angry, recalcitrant ideologue? Nobody. That's who. 

Ideology can blind good judgement, for one thing. This is the case with a list of "best to worst presidents" put out by a prominent libertarian, Dr. Ivan Eland. The worst four presidents according to him:

The very worst: James Polk
The 2nd worst: William McKinley
The 3rd worst: Harry Truman
The 4th worst: Woodrow Wilson
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James K. Polk (1845-1849)
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William McKinley (1897-1901)
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Harry Truman (1945-1953)
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Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
The author is a "Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute." He is prominent enough to be often invited on U.S. television news debate shows. 

I disagree with his analysis and I have to wonder if he is even arguing in good faith from these bizarre choices.

His methodology severely penalizes involvement in war of any sort, as we see in his full explanation:
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Post-318: A Glance at the Gwanghwamun Protesters

8/4/2015

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The malcontents were out in force on June 12th, 2015 at Gwanghwamun Plaza [광화문광장] in Seoul. This was the height of the MERS Panic of 2015. The MERS virus cleared the customers out of the department stores, but alas was not strong enough to clear out Gwanghwamun's protesters. A few of the protesters wore surgical masks. I didn't.

Gwanghwamun was once the core of downtown Seoul. That was a long time back, when Seoul had a single, identifiable downtown -- until around the mid-20th century. Today, Gwanghwamun is home to plenty of office space, a few government agencies, and has been molded into a tourist center. You'll find museums, monuments, and the main former royal palace (Gwanghwamun is the name of south gate of the main palace). The U.S. embassy is there. The huge Kyobo bookstore is there.

The most interesting thing about Gwanghwamun, to me, though, is that by today it is a central place for South Korean malcontents to gather and hold their signs, shout their slogans, and annoy passersby. My impression is that the malcontentry has increased in the 2010s over what I recall in my first times there in 2009. The "malcontents" are of all sorts, most often in the guise of Christian religious extremists and far-left political protesters.

I got some good pictures of two particular protesters that day and can "profile" them a little:

(1) "U.S. Military, Get Out!"
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Post-317: Dr. Strangelove (1964)

8/4/2015

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I was blown away, you might say, by Dr. Strangelove (Subtitle: "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb").

What a great movie, and one that took me by surprise. It starts seriously but the absurd slowly takes over the reins. Most characters reveal themselves to be comically insane. It turns out to have been a satirical comedy.

I expected a James Bond type movie with lots of chasing, raiding of secret lairs, and henchmen. I assumed "Dr. Strangelove" would be the name of an eccentric anti-American villain who creates a doomsday device, but in fact the character Doctor Strangelove actually works for the Americans. He is actually much less insane than some in the movie, notably than the Air Force commander who orders the nuclear first strike in retaliation for the Communists having put fluoride in Americans' water supplies.
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