Jail for couple whose baby died while they raised online child

A couple whose baby starved to death while they raised a virtual child in an online fantasy game was sentenced Friday, their defense attorney said. This greatly disappoints me because I myself play or have played my fair share of games. Games are in fact a fun way to escape reality, do things that you can’t really do in real life, and with ease; simple clicks of buttons. the couple supposedly were starving their children and instead raising an online child who gains magical powers in the online 3d game prius. It is extremely sad as this couple was not able to manage their own child but were able to better manage an online child. Both partners were oblivious of their child’s hunger issues and did not properly take care of the child; and so, he died. This exemplifies Korea’s gaming problems. Because of this, Korea will soon ban games past midnight starting in September. Korea has a huge issue with games as they have over 20,000 gaming rooms with ultra fast internet connection speed nationwide. With thousands of game addicts, who knows when an incident like this will happen again? I have been hooked or should I say addicted to games before and never have I experienced a point where I am oblivious to the people around me, especially close family and friend members. Some of us have to get our priorities straight.

Gaza Protest

International condemnation poured in Monday after Israeli soldiers stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid intended for Palestinians in Gaza, leaving at least 10 people dead in the resulting violence. Israel claimed it was defending itself, with the Israel Defense Forces saying the soldiers’ lives were in danger after they were attacked with “severe physical violence, including live fire, weapons, knives and clubs.” I’ve had this blog for so long yet I have never gone over the frightening conflict in Palestine-Israel grounds. This is a conflict that has been lasting several years if not decades. While the nation is officially recognized as Israel’s territory, Israel itself fails to give lands back to Palestine that which is deserved and made in treaties in the past. So, these two societies greatly feel hate for one another, often enduring physical as well as verbal violence and conflict between both sides. I can’t believe genocide continues to exist today in countries far from the safety of our own nation. We are indeed oblivious and misunderstanding. How can two so similar types of people living so close to each other hate each other with a passion incomprehensible with others not included in the conflict? Israel claims that they had killed 10 civilians due to first received violence, yet can they be trusted? Although Palestinians hate Israelis, it troubles me to believe that such civilians would attempt to attack well armed soldiers with knives and such. Anyways, I hope this conflict dissolves soon enough.

Foreign Relationships

“We must promote peace and stability in the Northeast Asian region through every effort,” Wen said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “We should be considerate of each other on a grave issue, deal reasonably with a sensitive matter and strengthen political trust.” His comments to reporters came after two days of meetings with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the South Korean island of Jeju. The summit came amid mounting regional tension, but was scheduled before the release of a report accusing North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank the Cheonan warship, killing 46 sailors. But was it really North Korea? Both North Korea and China deny the incidence as there remains too little evidence. Furthermore, North Korea admits it does not possess an underwater craft stealthy enough to slip past the advanced sonar and audio arrays around Byeongnyeong Island, explained North Korean intelligence analyst Kim Myong Chol in a news release. “The sinking took place not in North Korean waters but well inside tightly guarded South Korean waters, where a slow-moving North Korean submarine would have great difficulty operating covertly and safely, unless it was equipped with AIP (air-independent propulsion) technology.” If indeed it was an American rising mine that sank the Cheonan, it would constitute a friendly-fire accident. That in itself is not grounds for a criminal investigation against the presidential office and, at worst, amounts only to negligence by the military. However, any attempt to falsify evidence and engage in a media cover-up for political purposes constitutes tampering, fraud, perjury and possibly treason.

North Korea warns it will meet war with ‘all-out war’

North Korea reacted to a South Korean anti-submarine exercise early Thursday by saying it would meet “confrontation with confrontation” and war with “all-out war,” according to North Korean state-run media. North Korea, to this day, surprises me. I cannot believe what kind of maniac would run a country like that of North Korea; it almost ashames me to be of the same race as such people. I’m not necessarily saying I am a victim of racism, but my own opinions of North Korean Kim Jong-Il are negative to the point where it feels a burden to be Korean. Although, I am a United States of American citizen, I am ethnically Korean, and when I say that out loud I never say I am South Korean. We are of the same bloodline, we speak the same language, we eat the same food, we are the same ethnicity that is Korean. It surprises me that two nations that are so similar in that sense, have so many conflicts between each other. I am usually interested and fascinated at the conflicts between other nations that I often forget that my nation that I am in is in a conflict as well, with North Korea. Both nations have never officially ended the Korean war, technically making us still at a state of war. But it does remind me of what will happen when war breaks out between our two nations. I really do not know how nations will respond and it frightens me to this day. I deeply hope the conflicts simmer down.

Reverse and Return

The death toll from flooding and mudslides in Brazil continued to climb Thursday, with official reports of at least 181 fatalities. Thousands of people have been left homeless, said the government-run Agencia Brasil news service. The Rio de Janeiro mayor’s office placed that figure at 5,000. A record 11.3 inches (287 millimeters) of rain fell in Rio within 24 hours Tuesday, Mayor Eduardo Paes said, according to the news service.

This only reminds me that the world could be falling apart due to poor nurture by us humans. These little “accidents” and “happenings” should really be taken into account. Just like our body reacts to life patterns that are detrimental to one’s health, Earth is telling us humans that it is being harmed and certain processes in this world run by human works needs to be reversed before it is too late. The truth is, our world is only getting more polluted, no matter how greatly we enhance our green technology. We need to discover a way to reverse what we have done to mother nature and return to it what we have taken, as we have definitely taken too much. What I mean by this is every tree we cut down, a new tree should be replanted in its place. If not, the very notion of a circle of life will cease to exist. It’s time to reverse and return!

Police Policy

Thai police agreed Friday to restore the television signal for an anti-government group in the country on condition that protesters vacate the compound of the satellite center that distributes it. During a rare show of force Friday, authorities fired tear gas at opposition supporters gathered outside the building to demand the government reopen their network. The protesters, known as “red-shirts,” are seeking to oust Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. After reading through this event, I realized the humor of nations’ governments. It’s hard to believe that the tax payers of a nation fund the very people that will punish them for doing actions that do not even seem incorrect. So why is police fabricated in the fibers of a nation? I simply find it hard to find that we believe in  strangers that are given titles of police officer, a badge, and entitled the authority to hold a gun, to be trustworthy. Often, we find ourselves in situations where we cannot trust the people closest to us, yet we entitle complete strangers in our community to hold firearms. Are they really qualified to “protect and serve” the people? I am definitely not one to judge, however it just seems so unstable to entrust the nations’ security in people that we do not even know. So is it better to have police or not? I still believe that a nations’ possession of police is necessary; yet I find it hard to believe that the policy works so well and peacefully. The thing is, trust in our nation and its officers are what create the very reliable fabrics in the tissue of our society.

A Clean New Start

“Walking is a perilous endeavor in New Delhi’s traffic bedlam. Pedaling around the city of more than five million vehicles weaving through whatever space they find is not without danger either,” claims a reporter of CNN. As New Delhi, India is a rapidly growing rural India transforming around urbanization will result in the need to find solutions for a greener environment. In the midst of an unwashed Indian city, Architect Manit Rastogi is convinced that along filth filled age old drains, the landscape can be converted into “scenic lakes with walkways and cycle tracks alongside.” He believes technological interventions can do wonders with the 350-kilometer circuit of dirty streams that dump tons of household sewage into the River Yamuna, New Delhi’s heavily polluted lifeline. Using biotechnology, Rastogi, an expert in urban planning and the head of a private architecture and design firm, Rastogi envisages turning those tracts into landscaped passages for New Delhi’s pedestrians, cyclists and solar-powered rickshaws. Because 1/3 of all New Delhi’s daily commuters walk to work, this path will work wonders making them able to walk in safe and in non-hostile conditions. It’s good to see that the community is finally working to input a greener environment. Especially, in developing nations, it is extremely essential that greener methods are inputted now because change is harder in developed nations reluctant to convert to greener methods due to extra expenses. I hope I can see more of this in our world, not only in developing nations, but developed nations as well.

Global Tissue

While I was away in Japan, a South Korean naval ship sank following an explosion near a disputed maritime border with North Korea late last night, prompting a rescue mission to save the 104 sailors aboard. 46 still remain missing, yet another action by the spontaneous nation in attempts to pick a fight? South Korea immediately attempted to destroy a North Korean vessel, seemingly rather hasty, but did not hit the target, it apparently being a flock of birds.

Instantly I began to ponder what would have happened if South Korea was successful in actually hitting the North Korean vessel. What would have happened? Both actions from these nations made me realize how fragile this world really is. Sure, one would believe that South Korea would have the entire United Nations member-states behind their backs, or would they? Every nation refuses to stand up to DPRK due to nuclear arms, and any move by the South Korean government, I believe, would not change the fear. This dread and fright could potentially rip apart the very fibers that exist within our global community. Once North Korea launches its nuclear arms to a nation, that nation would obviously seek aid from other nations in combating North Korea. But how can that aid be guaranteed when other nations in fear of being attacked by nuclear arms do not possess the will to attack. Now you can only imagine what political problems and disputes this would result in – further nuclear war. Hopefully tthe two nations can come to peace.

Easter. Just for Christians?

On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ It is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches. Christians believe according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Christmas gets more attention, but Easter is arguably the most important of Christian holidays, fulfilling the promise of eternal life. Even for non-Christians, Easter is a time for rebirth, for new beginnings, for hope. Americans, and the rest of the world, certainly can use the hope. And, face it, after what seemed like a particularly bleary and long winter, those of us in the Midwest are definitely ready for spring. The colorful eggs children will seek and find today became linked with Easter because of their symbolism for new life, for the springtime rebirth of the earth. The egg hunt is a tradition in many homes and groups where children – our hope for the future.

Blood Type Stereotypes

Recently, I have discovered that blood type stereotypes are greatly trusted in as a direct link to one’s personality. In fact, according to recent surveys, more than 75% of Japanese people think there are relation between blood type and personality. However, not only the Japanese study the relationship between blood type and personality; several different nations’ scientists also research on this linkage, whether true or false. I can’t say I disagree as I also see few similarities and differences between  people of different blood types.

I myself am blood type O, what I believe to be the worst possible blood type, for in the case that I am in severe blood loss, only other people of blood type O donate to save my life. Although very unlikely, I still find it unfortunate. Anyways…I do follow some of the traits listed in the chart such as conscious of power relationship as well as “dislike to be subordinate.” I am not very sure how to respond to “know how to take chances.” I can sincerely say that I am most likely the worst student when it comes to decision-making. I am frightened by the possibility of the wrong choice, because the future is so untold and unpredictable. In majority, I believe that I do fit most of the qualities of Type O.