North Korean Conflict: Update

Ok, so war seems imminant. Already, the situation is esculating; North Korea claims that South Korea 'provokes' them to fire their weapons. They also claim that South Korea is driving them to the 'brink of war'. From the article, it is obvious that North Korea firing on the Yeonpyeong island, a civilian area, is an extremely brutal and aggressive action on North Korea's part, and it should not be tolerated. War is at hand.
If there is war, many people are worried about North Korea's nuclear weapons. I, for one, am not. In South Korea, we have Patriot Missile launchers placed strategically. If North Korea attempts to fire any dangerous weapon, we can simply shoot it down.

WAR!

My new educated guess is that the next country we will go to war with is North Korea. How do I know this? I have countless reasons. First, over the past few months tensions have been extremely high with North Korea and the United Nations. Over the past years, the UN and the US have repeatedly told North Korea "no nuclear weapons". About a week ago, North Korea showed a U.S. inspector a new high-tech uranium enrichment facility that is capable of producing weapons grade uranium for nuclear weapons. Also, a few hours ago North Korea fired over 100 artillery shells at a South Korean military base, killing two and injuring 15 others. Though South Korea responded with its own artillery and fighter jets, this was a clear act of aggression from the North and it cannot be tolerated. Additionally, earlier in the year North Korea attacked a South Korean warship with torpedoes, killing 46 South Korean sailors.
From these examples, it can clearly be seen that the North is not willing to conform to the world or the South any time soon. So, how will the United Nations and the United States respond? I believe I already have the answer to said question. I believe that our military and possibly NATO are working on an invasion plan. There's quite a bit of evidence that would support this theory. First, throughout the year there have been sightings of many U.S. advanced nuclear submarines docking in the Southwest Pacific, refueling and rearming. These submarines are capable of carrying long range missiles, which can be armed with a variety of weapons from chemical to nuclear. Also, a U.S. aircraft carrier moved to the region in the past year for a training exercise with South Korea.
So, when might the fighting begin? My guess is as good as anyone's. I predict, though, that the fighting will begin within the next six months, probably sooner than later. South Korea's government is furious with the attacks and is ready for battle, and the United Nations has condemned North Korea for all of their hostile actions. I think that if South Korea decides to fight the U.N. will have its back, and if the U.N. backs South Korea the fighting will be short and swift.

Information retrieved on 11/23/10 from the following:
http://wuxinghongqi.blogspot.com/2010/07/expert-three-nuclear-submarines.html
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/23/nkorea.skorea.military.fire/index.html
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-25/world/south.korea.drills_1_military-exercises-cheonan-incident-cheonan-attack?_s=PM:WORLD
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1990289,00.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/21/north-korea-nuclear-facility-built-_n_786481.html

Holiday Fun

I can't wait until Christmas!!! I'm going to my dad's house in North Carolina, but that's not really what excites me. What excites me is my brothers flying there on the same day I'm flying there, and we'll spend Christmas there together like we used to. In fact, he arranged the flights so our connecting flight from BWI to Norfolk is the same! We're going to have a great time there, and I'm going to convince him to bring his Xbox so we can play some Call of Duty. I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving Break, even though I'm sure I'll be busy the entire time and not get too much leisure time. Also, a week or so after Thanksgiving is my birthday, and I'm pretty excited for that.
On a different note, I'm in a great mood today!
On yet another different note, I was reading Ashleigh's research paper when I couldn't help but rebut to something in it. She claims "the U.S. is a country of change" and supports this with examples of civil rights changes. While I agree with the changes in civil rights and believe gays should have the same rights as everyone else, I disagree with the general statement that the U.S. is a country of change. I believe that the reason there has been so much change in the past few centuries is because we are still a young country and are working out the kinks. I think that civil rights for everyone were inevitable and just, but much change beyond those changes will be minuscule because there won't be much to change. The only things that will change will be our technology and economy, which, granted, will affect our government, but I also think that the government will simply sway back and forth around an average line. In other words, new bills and laws being introduced and laws going away will mirror each other and the big picture of our government system will not change.

Untitled

Ok this post is going to be short, not that sweet, but to the point. I had this random thought just tonight. That thought is this: I wish I could move somewhere else and just start off new with a clean slate. I'm not saying that I haven't had a great time here or I don't have any friends; I have tons of friends that I really appreciate. Just sometimes I wish I could get away from the constant reminders of mistakes that surround me daily here, some of the reminders being people. I don't think that thought is unreasonable because who wouldn't want to wipe the slate clean and live a 'new' life without any of those old influences from your old life or old reminders of who you were when you don't like who you were? Basically, I think what I really want is to destroy those bad first impressions and make new ones, except that want is irrational because many people are too stubborn to give those views up. Or, maybe I really want to destroy the bad things that I've done all together. I haven't really done things that are that bad at all, just for some people when you haven't done really bad things the little things seem huge in perspective when you are trying to be the best you can be.

Timapheus Babble

Another week bites the dust. It's been basically the same as every other week, disappointments and triumphs along the way. The way I see myself has changed so much in the past year, especially how I see my body. Now don't get me wrong and jump to conclusions! By the term body, I mean the physicalities of it, not the asthetics. What I mean is now a days I see every part of my body as an engineered system with all parts working together in harmony. It's amazing really in my point of view. To clarify, whenever I'm just doing everyday things and tasks, I really don't notice anything spectacular, like most people. However, when I'm bored or if I start to zone out, I start thinking about it. Whenever I look at my arm at these times, I don't see "my arm"; I see a tool. I see flesh and muscle, wrapped tightly around bone. As these muscles contract around the bone, I see thin pores open and close in the muscle. I don't really notice the tendons much in this way, but when I see the veins I think of a vast network going throughout my arm and reaching around it, branching off everywhere and supplying blood to everything. It's an extremely abstract way to look at it, and I'm not quite sure why I think about them like this sometimes. I do know it started a few weeks ago. Thinking like this really gives one a sense of purpose. It makes me believe that my arms and my body were designed in a precise manner for a precise reason, and that for anyone is a nice feeling. It's like my body was designed the way it was for a specific reason and eventually every aspect of it will come in handy one way or another; I think that applies to everyone.

Illegal Stuff

Why do so many teenagers insist on using illegal substances like alcohol and marijuana? Do we really have to skew our perceptions of reality to enjoy life and have a good time? No offense to any of you that do, but it really annoys me. All the time I see people I care about go out and do stupid things, and then they complain about how bad they feel the next day and things they did while they were under the influence. First of all, if you're going to do something illegal don't go telling everyone about it. Second, accept the consequences that you knew might be present afterward. Third, why would you take those risks in the first place for something so short-lived? Whenever I hear about a close friend of mine doing something like this, my heart sinks because God knows what could have happened. I'm not so much concerned about the law; that's actually the least of my worries. I'm worried about their safety, and it really blessed hearing about someone going to a party and getting wasted when you know what could've happened, or when you find out what DID happen.
I apologize for that slight digression. Anyway, I personally don't see the joy in stuff like that. In my experience, all it does is slow your reaction time a lot and mellow you out. In my opinion, that slowed reaction time makes me feel vulnerable to anything. I don't feel like I'm in control of my environment, which I like to have a firm grasp on at all times. That's why I haven't done anything illegal like that for a long time.
Again, no offense meant to anyone who does any of the above.

Hogtied at Hogwarts

It was morning now and the sun had just peaked over the horizon. Thin rays of sunlight sneaked through small holes at the tops of the grimy basement walls of Hogwarts. The Special Forces squad knew that the time to find and apprehend Lord Fiddlesticks was at hand. Quickly and silently, they placed an explosive charge on the door to the ground floor and waited. Upon hearing the first blasts of the artillery guns, they blew the charge. The door flew from its hinges and slammed into the wall adjacent to it and the six squad members filed out in groups of two to search for Lord Fiddlesticks.
They split off and went in three different directions. The first group, Foxtrot One, would search the first two floors, the second group, Foxtrot Two, would explore the other cellars, and the third group, Foxtrot Three, would disperse to the upper levels and attic of the building. Armed with rubber bullets and beanbag shotguns, the groups picked off any wizards who stood in their way, dodging flying spells as they went. Eventually, Foxtrot One found Fiddlesticks hiding under a table in the dining hall.
Silently, Foxtrot One called the other groups over the radio. “Foxtrot Two, Three, this is Foxtrot One. We have found the package. Repeat, we have found the package. Location, dining hall. Requesting immediate assistance. Over.” The two other teams then responded and ran to the hall.
Within seconds of arriving, they immediately began their advance on the dangerous wizard. “You’ll never catch me alive!” yelled Lord Fiddlesticks as he launched spells haphazardly in the squad’s direction. They quickly took cover and began firing back. After a few minutes of constant gunfire and spellfire, the team managed to hit Lord Fiddlesticks in the face with a beanbag and knocked him out. They converged on his location, removed his wand, hogtied him, and began carrying him out. By this time, the main army had just penetrated the castle. With fighting and gunfire all around, it was too dangerous and risky to try to carry the wizard out from the ground floor, so the squad started ascending the staircases. Two of the men carried Lord Fiddlesticks, while the other four squad members covered them.
After approximately five minutes, they reached the roof of the castle, at which time the leader of the squad got on the radio. “Command, this is Foxtrot, requesting helicopter transport ASAP, over!” he yelled into the microphone as explosions sounded from the floors below. It wouldn’t be long before the building collapsed.
“Roger, Foxtrot, the helicopter is approaching.” After approximately six minutes, the Blackhawk helicopter arrived and evacuated the team and its captive, transporting them to the evac site just within the edge of the forest.

Power Journal: The Mystery Box of Sims

Just a heads up, this is the skimpy copy of the story. I'm probably going to add some more detail later into what happens at the end.

It was a beautiful Spring morning as the buses filed down the bus lane at the back of the school. Though the cold, crisp, morning air slightly chilled the body, rays of light from the orange ball of fire just over the treeline warmed the skin, giving one a feeling of comfort and tranquility. As the buses lined up, stopping one after the other, students climbed out with mixed emotions- excitement for seeing their friends after the long weekend and apprehension because it was a Monday and most students hate Mondays.

After getting off the buses and entering the massive concrete prison that is Pike Central High School, the students slowly shuffled to their classrooms with an eagerness matching that of a man on his way to the electric chair. By the time they reached their classrooms, the students had accepted their fates and began mentally preparing for the day to come.

Mrs. Sims’ first period class was no exception. Because the class was small, though, it seemed to recover from the Monday morning blues much more quickly than the larger classes around the school. As the bell began the sequence of chimes marking the start of a new school day, the students began to take their seats. Something made this day different from the others, though. Mrs. Sims was not yet in the room, as she always was at this time. As suspicions of where she might be began to formulate, the students heard a loud squeak from the large, wooden, corridor door in the hallway and a swoosh as it closed and displaced the air in the surrounding area. Finally, thought the students as they looked at each other with annoyance.

Suddenly, the lights shut off. Two girls shrieked in horror, with the sounds of quiet and confused conversation filling the classroom. The student closest to the light switches reached for them but fell short, banging into the small metal trashcan and sending a wave of increased volume across the room. After about thirty seconds, the light in the center of the room flashed on to reveal Mrs. Sims standing on a desk and holding a shoebox in the air. She placed it on the desk and skipped out of the room. The box began to shake and crumble within itself until it became so small it blew, engulfing everyone in the room, never to be seen again.

Equality

People stop and stare like they don't see people everywhere,
I'm not any different, I swear, I eat with a fork and sit on chairs,
So don't judge me, don't you dare, I'm in this country, not over there,
You and I are brothers, our colors are the only thing we don't share.
We both breathe air, calm one another when we're scared,
For one another we care, no matter the burdens we bare,
We're really not that different, we know infringement isn't fair,
So lets be indifferent, and let that let us go anywhere.

Random Blog

First, in response to Taylor's blog (because I can't comment), I, myself, don't live everyday like it's my last. All I do is live it; I do everything either indifferently or happily because there's no reason to be upset about doing something. Either way, that thing is going to be done so you might as well make the most of it. This applies to work as well as school. In either case, you have to do both eventually, so you might as well make the most of them and learn as much as you can. That knowledge will easily help you in the future.
I'll tell an example of how I'm taking advantage of my situations these days. Right now, I'm taking a free Manufacturing class taught by VU after school with classes about two to three times each week. Although I almost certainly won't go into the manufacturing field when I get out of high school, it gives me a lot of insight into the manufacturing world and why we do some of the things we do. Because of it, I've also learned why the East Asian markets are doing so well compared to our markets. With this information, one could help boost our economy and get our country back to where it needs to be: the top.
Anyway, I really don't know what else to write about here. I could speak for hours about things going on in my life and the world, but there's only one person I would really tell EVERYTHING to and not leave out bits and pieces, and he doesn't respond in words. For the rest of you, if you ask what's going on I will probably tell you the bits and pieces that you want to hear or I want you to hear because that's just how I am and have always been. Besides, what can be accomplished by me telling you all about problems of mine and the world and how we can fix them if we can't do so?