Seems Like Korean Media Is Always Worried About Companies

President Moon ordered a review of the Four Rivers Water Works Projects that were carried out during the Lee Myung-bak administration, where construction companies (Samsung, SK, Hyundai, and other business conglomerates) colluded in bids to fix prices and were convicted. They were banned from participating in future public projects, but were pardoned by the Park Keun-hye administration. Tens or hundreds of billions of dollars wasted in shoddy and questionable projects. A lot of Koreans want this investigated again. President Moon ordered a review and if there is any evidence of illegalities, then they will be investigated.

Korean media's spin? Construction companies are facing a hard time due to the economy and these investigations could hurt them. They usually add that this would be disastrous for the economy, but this was left out this time.

President Moon ordered a stop to construction of coal fired electrical generation plants. Korea media's spin? You got it! Most of the major construction companies depend on construction of these plants and if construction is stopped, most of them would lose money.

Anyway, you get the idea. I know these types of articles are normal, but when most of the media puts out lots of articles with similar spin, that is abnormal.

Korean Media vs American Media

President Trump pushed for job creation, and the media discussed the topic.

President Moon pushed for job creation, and some of the Korean media report on business fearing repercussions from this type of policy.

There are a few favorable articles, like this one.

Korea Herald: Policy advisory panel calls for greater competition to create more jobs

However, most are somewhat negative in tone, asking if it will be possible to create jobs that way and encouraging negative feelings. Most of these articles are in Korean like the ones below.

Asia Times: 새 정부의 ‘비정규직 제로’ 정책… 증권업계도 가능할까
Sisa Journal: 유통업계 꺼내든 일자리 카드…‘질(質)’도 좋을까

The majority of Koreans seem to believe the media. However, growing numbers are becoming very skeptical.

Cary Grant Used LSD 100 Times For Therapy

He used it when it was legal in the early sixties. He visited Dr Mortimer Hartman at the Psychiatric Institute of Beverly Hills weekly for therapy because he was having a difficult time adjusting to fame. Cary Grant said that LSD cured him and helped him find his goal. Now, there is a movie out about this.

Guardian: Cary Grant: how 100 acid trips in Tinseltown 'changed my life' 

Vermont Gov To Veto Recreational Marijuana

Sign of the times.

Vermont would have become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana. And would have been the the first to legalize it through legislation rather than public voting. 

NBC News: Vermont Governor Plans to Veto Bill That Would Legalize Marijuana

Adultery

Used to be a crime in Korea. Several years ago, the courts ruled that it was not a crime, and was a moral issue, if I remember correctly.

While cheating is sort of different from adultery, gives me an excuse to introduce -

Good Words For Former President Noh Moo-yun

Yesterday, President Moon Jae-in attended held memorial services for former Korean President Noh Moo-hyun. They sang songs the public wanted to sing and said good things about the former president.

Call me paranoid, but it almost seemed as if there were organized campaigns to smear former President Noh Moo-hyun almost a decade now.

Yesterday was the first day former President Park Keun-hye attended her court trial.

You Are Illegal!

Did you know that?

In 1990, Miles Herkenham of the National Institute of Mental Health, discovered that the human body had its own internal cannabinoid receptor system. The human body produces cannabinoids, like THC.

If THC is illegal, then cannabinoids could also be illegal because they do what THC does. They have the same effects.

29 US states have legal medical marijuana, several countries have legal recreational marijuana, must be thousands of patents being registered, billions of dollars being taxed and still not even one pro-marijuana article in Korea.

Corporations push sugar, trans fat, salt, preservatives, chemicals, and other things that people do not need, like cars, automatic weapons. These really kill and make people sick.

The following quote from Dr. Sanjay Gupta is from an article in Cannabis Now - Cannabis: It’s Getting Better All the Time on how much times have changed since the old days when people were locked up for marijuana.

“We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that.” - Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Recordings and Presidents

Recordings of conversations played a part in the impeachments of President Nixon (resigned), President Keun-hye Park, and in the probable impeachment of Brazilian President Temer.

Wondering if there are recordings of President Trump regarding the dismissal of FBI Director Comey, among other goodies.

Meanwhile in Korea, it seems like the rich may be taxed fairly eventually. Good news! But not for the rich. hehe

How To Convince The Politically Radical?

This article in Scientific American outlines how to approach and present facts to people who believe in false things.

If Korean politicians knew how to do this, then only the ones that presented the facts clearly would be popular. Guess the same is true all over the world.

Scientific American: Sometimes, Facts Can Actually Trump Ideology - It's hard to get people to look past their ideological blinkers, but behavioral science research shows it's not impossible.

I remember another article in Scientific American. It was about how to persuade people with serious cognitive dissonance. They both state similar methods, but from different perspectives.

Korean Prosecutors Received Envelopes Filled With Money

Korean prosecutors received money from a superior from the Justice Ministry just after they closed a case. At first, they said it was a "normal" customary practice. No shame! Now, officials are offering to resign over the incident. Resign? They should be jailed, IMHO. The official who handed out money (from $800-900 each to over 6-7 people) was one of those investigated in the case that was closed by the prosecutors without anyone being indicted.

It is still a struggle in Korea. TV and media is still mostly titled towards the goals of the powerful and rich.

President Moon is trying to get justice for any serious crimes committed by the last administration. He was the one who ordered the investigation into use of government funds for investigation that was misused to entertain prosecutors with food, drink and money.

For details on this scandal, please read the following article;

Yonhap News: Senior prosecutor, ministry official offer to resign after Moon's inspection order 

Detaching Ourselves From Personal Perspective Leads To Better Morality

That's what I said, sort of. So did Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and others.

Now the scientific community is saying the same thing.

The following excerpt is from a review in the New York Times on Steven Pinker’s “Better Angels of Our Nature”. A book that promptly reached the best seller list after Bill Gates recommended it.

"Pinker argues that enhanced powers of reasoning give us the ability to detach ourselves from our immediate experience and from our personal or parochial perspective, and frame our ideas in more abstract, universal terms. This in turn leads to better moral commitments, including avoiding violence."

NY Times: Is Violence History?

Conscious and Unconscious Minds

It appears that both the conscious and unconscious mind are both at work in our brains. The unconscious mind is always working in the background automatically guiding our decisions and perception in many cases.

BBC: Why It Feels Weird To Step On A Stopped Escalator

The following was the number one song in the the US in 1969, beating out songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, and Stevie Wonder. I remember liking the song. Must be getting really old.

Michael Jackson in 1969.

Brain Functions

The brain has different areas for different functions, and some neurons are huge and extend through the body.

It also seems like there are many brain states, for dreams, deep thought, and so on.

I think there are two types of operating modes or more for the brain. One is the action mode where thought is directed towards physical action, and simple "two-dimensional" decisions. The other is thought directed towards reflection, silence, in many cases with eyes closed, deep concentration, solving very complex problems with seemingly no solutions, and such.

It seems these two types develop sort of independently in adulthood. If one talks too much, and spends time only doing things, then that "action" brain function develops.

If one spends a lot of time in deep thought, that "thinking" brain function develops and "worthwhile" knowledge accumulates.

Seems like a lot of people spend their lifetimes acting out their lives, rather than thinking before they act. The barrier seems to be thoughts about death, purpose in life, running out of money and such. These thoughts are a headache and people want to avoid thinking about these in depth. It is hard and takes decades to get over hangups and complexes about these matters. Once one gets over their hangups about death, purpose, material wealth, and some other things, then thinking becomes very enjoyable and beneficial. Some never get past their hangups.

That's just my thinking. What's yours?

Life After The Park Keun-hye Administration

It's only been a few days since President Moon took office, but already the atmosphere is different. The winds have suddenly shifted, on TV, in the news, in government policies, in people's attitudes. Small changes, but still you can tell.

"No Big Bang" Theory

It is hard for me to believe that the universe started with a big bang, and it seems there are some people who agree. There are other theories.

Cosmic background radiation doesn't have to be from a big bang. It could be something else. Looking through 14 billion years of space might create a "haze" of radiation. 

Or, the distance of over 14 billion light years would prevent light from further away from reaching us. The expansion of the universe over great distances of tens of billions of light years is faster than the speed of light. So we may see only haze from the furthest light we can see. 

It only makes sense that time has been forever with no start and no end. Makes sense?

Found this following article which explains that the big bang theory is pseudoscience because there is no way to test it. Like the multiverse theories. The truth will come.

Scientific American: Is a Popular Theory of Cosmic Creation Pseudoscience?

New Jersey Looks Certain To Legalize Recreational Pot In 2018

It seems there have been over a 230% increase in opiate deaths in New Jersey in the past couple of years. Pharmaceutical companies and doctors can make money off of opiates. We knew for decades, but still couldn't do anything about it. Thank goodness time changes.

New Jersey : Forget decriminalization. Time to legalize weed | Editorial 

Seems like people in New Jersey will certainly get legal recreational pot soon.

What will society look like in the future? Probably more like what this guy in the following video says. It seems headed that way.

Happy poor and miserable rich

That's what I thought privately. Then I read this following article.

BBC: How rich are you really? 

In the article, they talk about wealth and happiness. They say the rich are used to finding happiness in showing off their wealth, while the poor find happiness in many other ways independent of wealth.

The rich are usually surrounded by those interested primarily in money. They also tend to order people around and get pissed at people. They also usually think they are smarter and so on. Not fun people to be with. Can rich people be humble?

Did God instill thoughts about being humble for nothing?

Which brings me back to my favorite song.

Vermont lawmakers approve legal recreational marijuana

Vermont's House of Representatives approved a measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana which would take effect from July 2018.

Massachusetts and Maine also approved possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use by adults 21 years of age or older from July 2018.

High Times: Vermont lawmakers approve legal recreational marijuana

Nobel Prize Winners, Billionaire CEOs, and Other Genius Potheads

The following are just a few of the "stoners" who spoke against marijuana prohibition. Do you really want to lock up people who smoke or ingest weed? Do these people seem like they are criminals? Lack motivation? Would steal to get drugs? Gimme a break!

Stephen Ray Gould was a paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and historian of science

Bill Gates founded Microsoft along with fellow stoner Paul Allen and voted for legalization in Washington

Kary Mullis received a Nobel Laureate in chemistry for his DNA research on the polymerase chain reaction in 1993

Steve Jobs smoked weed in his early days, and also did other drugs, including LSD.

Margaret Mead was a cultural anthropologist and activist who helped spark the feminist and sexual revolution movements in the United States.

Carl Sagan, the well  known scholar on extraterrestrial life and author. For more information on Carl Sagan and his view on marijuana, see our previous article “Carl Sagan and Pot.”

Richard Feynman was a theoretical physicist and received the joint Nobel Prize in 1965. He openly used drugs in the 50s and 60s.

Francis Crick discovered the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 and jointly received the Nobel Prize in 1962 along with James Watson.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet started the Giving Pledge in 2010. Paul Allen also joined in the pledge. I wonder how many Korean billionaires have joined the Giving Pledge. Maybe zero? Probably zero? Most likely zero? Their sons are in charge of their companies and stuff. I dun think they are giving their money away. More like trying to build dynasties and shit.

I hope the future holds better things for Korea's "paper economy" (as in "paper tigers").

Marijuana Reverses Aging In Brain

In brains of mouses! Hopefully, it is the same for humans.

Professor Andreas Zimmer from the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn reported, "The treatment completely reversed the loss of performance in the old animals.", and "When the activity of the cannabinoid system declines, we find rapid ageing in the brain.".

Wow!!! If it turns out to be the same for humans, eating pot is gonna be really popular.

Science Digest: Cannabis reverses aging processes in the brain, study suggests

US Judge's Plea For Medical Marijuana - May 2012

The late Gustin L. Reichbach was a justice of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, who had been undergoing medical therapy for pancreatic cancer. He wrote the following article pleading that marijuana be legalized for medical purposes, because marijuana relieved pain, help him eat and sleep. When you cannot eat or sleep because of pain and nausea, and the only recourse for relief is marijuana, what do you do? The judge's friends despite all the legal risk, gave him some. And the hospital looked the other way when the judge toked away his last days.

NY Times: A Judge’s Plea for Pot

Marijuana Business Daily : Most Common Medical Conditions of Registered MMJ Patients

There have been an large increase in the number of new publications and organizations related to marijuana in the past year.

AI, Google, , George Soros (empathized medical marijuana as a path to legalization), Gates, Buffet, Tesla, Amazon, Branson, Marijuana.

Seems like the dawn of a new Golden Age. Sure, there are a lot of problems, but ...

17 More States Seek Legal Recreational Marijuana

Eight states in the USA have already legalized recreational marijuana, and 17 more states have introduced legislation for legal recreational marijuana. Some predict all states will have legal recreational marijuana by 2021. 

Nice! Thought I'd be dead long before pot was legalized in the US. 

I might still be alive when they legalize it in Korea. I'd probably have to live a lot longer.

Details can be found at LA Times: Lawmakers Working to Legalize Pot in 17 States

Western Undercover In Korea

Answered a request for help in CL. Pretty certain I ran into an undercover someone. Tried to get me to talk about pot, and offer pot to him. I asked why he was trying to elicit certain answers from me, and he suddenly had reasons for leaving quickly. Said he was busy.

Probably decided I was sincerely interested in helping foreigners adjust to Korea.

Strange times.

Korean Youth Unemployment and Student Debt - Any Plans?

There is high unemployment among Korean young people, along with high student debts. Are there people in the government who are planning for the future?

I sincerely doubt it. They all seem to be saying we need to improve the economy. Bullshit. The economy, military, government, and large corporations are doing okay. The average Korean is not doing well and is getting shafted, but most don't realize it.

Hmmm... What to do?

Hey, look what's happening in the US. And they are in a much better situation compared to Korea. This following article explains why only 5% of Americans can afford a new car, and why most people can't afford expensive things. Most people in the world are in need of help, even in so-called "advanced" countries.

At least, Bill Gates, Buffet and co. are putting their money to good use. There is hope.

Bloomberg: A $50,000 Chrysler Minivan Explains Slowing U.S. Auto Sales

World's Best Performing Hedge Fund Continues To Invest In Cannabis

Tribeca Investment Partners Pty, owner of the world’s best-performing hedge fund last year, has bought shares in the initial public offering of Cann Group, the only company to have a federal government license to grow marijuana in Australia.

Tribeca has also invested in two North American cannabis  firms Aurora Cannabis Inc. which has a 19.9 percent stake in Cann Group and Canopy Growth Corp., which has the world’s largest pot-growing facility near Niagara Falls.

Bloomberg: Top Hedge Fund Turns to Australian Cannabis Firm for Next Bet

151 billion dollar market projected to grow rapidly for decades. 151 billion dollars is about half of all annual consumer electronics sales globally. Guess there are some more billionaires in the making.

People Who See Through Thought, Not Eyes

There are blind people who can "see" their surroundings just by using their consciousness.

BBC: Blindsight -The Strangest Form of Consciousness