Since this is the topic on everyone’s mind back home let me enlighten you on how it all feels this side of the world.

Everyone is pointing to North Korea as the ones who ‘shot first’.  Maybe the did, maybe they didn’t.  I wasn’t there, I can’t say who’s in the right or wrong.  What I do know is that South Korea planned some ‘air excercises’ of this island (that’s been in debate for ages) and if I were to take a guess, I think that North Korea did fire first but only after South Korea ‘pushed the limits’ of their nerves by being in that area as well as giving North Korea reasons to push back from the corner they’ve put themselves into.

As for the general populace, life goes on.  I’ve not spoken with any locals but the general consensus amung the english teachers is that this is really nothing new.  Maybe more ‘fire exchange’ than in the past but there has always been skirmishes over this island.  Unless there is a drastic change in level of activity, it’s just one more notch in history of  ongoing Korean War. (You did know that it never ended right?)

North Korea’s only ally (China) is even staying somewhat neutral.  They have neither approved nor condemned the incident but at most said ‘the two should work harder at coming to peace’.

I’ve signed up with Canadian Government brach for registered Canadians abroad.  They keep track of such things and email updates on events like this.  Their last email said that neither country has raised any ‘alert levels’, a pointed indication that this is nothing more than two children fighting over one toy for the sake of pride now more than anything else.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-nature/emotions/happiness/being-happy/5-signs-not-happy.htm

This article, in the pathetic attempt to be some sort of authority, claims that an economic indicator is the sale of coke in a country.  Here’s a quote from the article and my response.

‘ In times of war and political strife in recent years, Coke sales have dipped; when stability returned, so did the soda consumption”

Are you kidding me?  Somehow a nation’s economy and happiness is based on coke sales?  talk about the dumbest thing I have read in a LONG time….geeze, let’s hope the sales of BMW’s aren’t affect by war either…..oh wait….

*****

I didn’t even bother read the rest of the article.  I’m sure other brain-dumbing and ‘not obvious to anyone with an IQ above 4′  facts are in there as well….like how a house will _actually_ get wet during a rain shower!  My god!  Car cruise nights attendance drops too!  Shocking but true!

It’s schlock like this that affirms the statement “The Internet makes you stupid.”

Personally, I’d like to know how that site gets funded when crap like that is spewed out.