Globalization at its worst

Something from a fellow blogger -- do you know what happens to your recycling?

The rush to recycling

Stars in the sky of Tokyo

The other day I happen to look up into the sky. I saw stars. Not the kind on tv, but actual stars that shine in the sky. Seeing the twinkles above me actually bewildered me because as long as I could remember you could hardly see anything but the moon when you looked up in Tokyo. It's probably been about three months since the economy in Japan has been really tanking but that was my first thought. Could the industrial output be so low that pollution is actually down? When I say pollution I don't mean light pollution either. Or could it be that the high gas prices drove drivers away from the road and onto trains or bicycles? In any case, it is a welcome sight to see the sky full of stars.

Seeing the stars also made me think about a book I read a while ago, J-Curve by Ian Bremmer. I was intrigued by the author's analysis and use of his J curve, but did not find the overall book to be very intriguing. Although the curve applies to terrorist states and states that failed, I constantly applied his logic and reasoning to the US while I read the book, then it became fascinating. Anyway, the author mocks N. Korea in one of his chapters and points out a satellite picture of N. Korea at night and how it takes up an empty space in between S. Korea and China/Russia, whose cities lighten up the map.



It was an interesting point that N. Korea lags behind in infrastructure and consumption/use of electricity. I am by no means a supporter of N. Korea, I guess I have to point out now that I am Korean-American, but you can look at this satellite picture in another...should I say light? Because it has such poor infrastructure and doesn't use that much electricity, it is probably one of the greenest countries in Asia... Is that a good point? I bet you could see the stars really nicely from there, not that I would like to see it from there.

Why Violent Sunrise?

Every morning I open my eyes feeling the pains in my life from yesterday, only to find they are still there and new ones have built over some of the old. Does my neck hurt more or does my back feel stiffer. Are we still at war in the world? Did someone magically turn the economy around?

It's been two mornings since the US got a new president but nothing has changed, only an increase in optimism. I am one of those optimistic that hopes that things will change with this new president. It is an upward battle for sure, but I am optimistic. Now let's bring reality and open my eyes. I don't want a Neo experience from the Matrix, but the reality is no matter how good or optimistic one can be, there is only so much one can do in 100 days. Let's face it, this has been 8 years coming, we need 8 years to "fix it" or reach a balance.

People make peace, not weapons or war. If we prepare for war, we will only get war. We have to prepare for peace if we want peace. I hope to wake up one day and wonder where I am when everything is quiet, when war is gone and people are helping each other out striving to better themselves together and not alone.

Ensuring the Future of Food

Having seen a quality lapse in the food chain, I wondered what life would be like eating nothing but fast food or even just junk food.

The Ministy of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries(MAFF) has released a pretty interesting video. I've been thinking that people of different ethic backgrounds have different needs in their diet. Yet we most of us eat prioritizing price, taste and what is fashionable.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok3ykR2GHCc

Violent Sunrise

I wanted start a blog like a diary and keep track of all things that go on in my life. I spend a lot of time online doing work, reading articles and looking for interesting stuff, but did not have a personal blog. I hope you enjoy my blog as I coordinate and organize my thoughts, sometimes coherently and sometimes not.

KB