Hot on the heels of the unrest in the Middle East, South Korea wants North Korean citizens to begin their own uprising. They’ve employed a low tech solution to provoke them. In the past couple of days, members of the South Korean military began to fly balloons filled with leaflets on the unrest in the Middle East over the border and into North Korea.
The messages contain news of the uprisings in Egypt and Libya, suggesting “a dictatorial regime is destined to collapse.” More than 3 million leaflets have been sent to North Korea. When the balloons burst, the leaflets scatter.
There is no word on whether any protests have occurred in North Korea to date. The official news channel in North Korea has not reported on the situation in the Middle East. Earlier this week, China blocked phone access and the internet to prevent uprisings similar to those in the Middle East from occurring in their country.
In case you’ve been buried under a shell for the last week… legislators in Wisconsin, led by Republican Governor Scott Walker, have championed a bill that would trim the state’s budget deficit but also eliminate collective bargaining rights for public, unionized employees of the state. Walker claims removing the collective bargaining rights is necessary to help alleviate the deficit, but opponents doubt that.
Two days ago, Walker suffered a huge public embarrassment when it was revealed that a 20-minute conversation he thought he had with “David Koch”— a Republican billionaire who supported Walker during last fall’s election— was actually with liberal blogger.
Which leads us to last night. You may recall that the State Senate Democrats have fled the state to prevent that body from voting on the bill. Members of the Democratic Assembly remained, though, and passionately debated the bill for well over 72 hours. Last night, just after 1 a.m., the President Pro Tempore announced a voice vote. Seconds later, using the digital voting system, 51 ayes had been registered. Even though 28 assembly members (mostly democrats) had not cast their ballots, the voting ended.
Democrats now claim the vote was illegal and may pursue legal challenges in court. Immediately after the Speaker Pro Tempore announced the results Democratic legislators rose and chanted, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” See below for that video.
The video below from about a week ago shows similar frustation from Democratic assemblyman Gordon Hintz. It has not been seen by enough people.
This is a record I don’t think anyone needs to break. Ziona Chana lives in rural India, surrounded by his adoring family. Those people include 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren (so far). They all live together in one gigantic mansion that sticks out in the small town where they live. Chana’s wives rotate who gets to spend time in his bed, and live in dorm-like areas.
‘Today I feel like God’s special child. He’s given me so many people to look after,” Chana told one British newspaper.
It takes 30 chickens to feed the family for dinner. Not surprisingly, Chana is the head of a sect that allows men to take as many wives as they wish. One of his sons believes his father takes wives to save the poor women of the village. Hmmm… ok.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal announced that it would end the use of honorifics in its sports section. For those non-journalists out there, honorifics are the use of formal titles throughout a story. In the sports context, for example, “Mr. Bryant dunked over the head of Mr. James.” Or, “Mr. Ochocinco replied, ‘I think I played like a champion.'” See, it can sound kind of absurd on the sports page.
To its credit, the Journal made fun of its ways in their article explaining the decision. They admitted they were one of the final holdouts that continued using honorifics.
Chad Ochocinco is now Mr. Ochocinco in the Wall Street Journal
New Zealand is still reeling from a devastating Earthquake that struck Christchurch, the second largest city in the country. At least 76 people were killed in the disaster, and more than 230 remain missing today. More than 120 of those missing may be buried under one building downtown.
Was this the first earthquake in Christchurch? Hardly. There was actually a more powerful one that struck the city in September 2010. That one measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. That earthquake caused moderate damage but did not result in any serious injuries, let alone any deaths.
Why was this one so much worse? This most recent earthquake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale. Even though Tuesday’s earthquake was 10 times less powerful than the one in September, it caused much more damage because of its location. The recent earthquake was centered less than 6 miles from the center of town, while September’s occurred more than 24 miles away. The most recent quake occurred three miles from the surface, while the past quake occurred at twice that distance. This quake’s proximity made the tremor much more intense in Christchurch and shook the buildings with devastating effects.
Any good news? There’s some. Google quickly set up a message board where people could post descriptions of missing people. Several reunions have been made possible through the service. Additionally, rescuers have successfully removed people from buildings alive. One triumphant photo is particularly striking…
Are there any videos of the Earthquake itself? Yes, several videos have emerged. Two are below.
Is there something really puzzling? I think so. Take a look at this video, also taken shortly after the earthquake struck. As you’ll see, makeshift ambulances are taking people to hospitals. However, take a look at the scenery in the video. It appears that the area in the video is relatively intact. Other videos show similar things. I don’t understand why certain areas of the city were devastated, but others seemed left unaffected.
Other noteworthy pictures? These pictures showcase the devastation in Christchurch.
Devastation to Christchurch's central cathedral
The Cathedral before the earthquake
Rescuers pull a woman from the rubble in Christchurch
Not Intent on Arriving 