Updates and pics

I thought I'd update a couple of news stories from the past.  But first, My first actual interview- such as it is- is with an inventory-taking outfit the day after the 4th (commonly known in other countries as the fifth).  In preparation of this, I have eliminated half of my non-jean slacks as no longer making the full orbit around Planet Stomach, and will have to go out later and get black shoes that aren't best left for ballroom dancing.  Also, I have become sufficiently versed in what "business-casual" is  (thus the five pairs of slacks that have become "business casualties").

Also, planning goes apace for Laurie's big 4th-o-July blowout; unfortunately, at this point our experience with the Rug Doctor could use the same pic for "before" and "after".  I guess in our case, "Steamin' mad at dirt" was more like "mildly miffed".  I'm thinking we could pass out a pamphlet explaining "small dark stains" as "spill targeting areas" and hope for the best.

Okay, anyway, here are those updates.  Remember the Chinese-Korean guy that raped, tortured, and dissected the girl while the Suwon PD tried desperately to hide the fact the lost their heads up their butts?  He got sentenced the other day:

Wu Yuanchun was sentenced to death, followed by orders to wear electronic anklets for 30 years and his personal information to be known for 10 years. Even though he was sentenced to death, South Korea has not carried out the death penalty since 1997. The electronic anklets are just in case his sentence is commuted, which is highly likely.

The court looked at several things which influenced their decision:

1) All his testimonies turned out to be lies, he was never truthful from the beginning, refused to answer many of the questions leading to suspicion that he refuses to come clean.  (You don't say?)

2) He was remorseless, did not show any regret.

3) The body was carefully cut up into hundreds of pieces with a kitchen knife and carefully preserved in their own bags (like how you cut up a large chunk of beef to preserve it in freezer). He did not use a saw which he could have used, he used a kitchen knife. Leading to suspicion that his goal was to preserve the meat for sale or consumption.

4) The victim's organs were also carefully cut out and preserved in ice packs, leading to suspicion that his goal was to sell the organs to unknown underground trade, with many people pointing fingers at China's flourishing illegal organ trade. (Another good reasons the Koreans don't like the Chinese...) The court acknowledges that this is a possibility.

The Korean civic groups are not satisfied with the investigation, and they are rallying to urge the police to reinvestigate the case for possible other murders committed by this person, and a possible flourishing trade in human flesh and organ in Korea's Joseonjok communities and China. They point out the recent smugglings of human flesh pills from China which made big headlines, and they say there is a link there that needs to be investigated. They also point out that Wu's skills at knife work and his cool and calm way of slicing up the victim's body suggest that he has done this before many times.

Human flesh pills?  Read on:

SEOUL: South Korean customs said it had confiscated more than 17,000 health capsules smuggled from China that contain human flesh, most likely extracted from aborted foetuses or stillborn babies.
The Chinese Ministry of Health said it had been investigating allegations that capsules were being manufactured from human remains but had found no evidence.
The South Korean customs agency said pills had been smuggled into the country through parcels and luggage carried from China. The pills were composed of ''ground stillborn foetus or babies that had been cut into small pieces and dried in gas ranges for two days, then made into powders and encapsulated'', the report said.



Among some traditional healers in South Korea and China, unborn infants, and particularly placenta, are believed to have medicinal properties.
''Human flesh pills are similar to a bizarre invigorate-seeking culture where people search for items such as seal's genitals and bear gall bladder in hopes for boosting one's stamina,'' Dr Ha Il-hyun at Seoul's Konkuk University Hospital told the newspaper Chosun Ilbo. ''If there's anyone who claims he benefited from the pill, it would only be a placebo effect.''


I really can't add anything to that.  Every culture has its things that seem odd or weird.  I praise God I was not born into one that believes in THAT.

Moving on....

Remember the Rikuzen Takata "miracle tree", the only one that survived the tsunami?  When I checked in the spring, I thought they were declaring it lost.  Apparently not...

A single pine tree that survived after an entire forest in the city of Rikuzentakata was swept away by last year’s tsunami is now dying due to severe damage from the disaster. But the local authorities are seeking funds to save it.
The so-called “miracle pine” is the only survivor among some 70,000 pines which were taken away by the tsunami on March 11, 2011.
The local government will now open a Facebook page to ask for donations to preserve the tree. According to the authorities, the project may require Y90 million ($1.1 million). It would provide the tree with an antiseptic treatment.
Rikuzentakata is still trying to recover more than one year after the disaster. The surviving tree is now seen by the local community as a symbol for resilience in a city where about 1,500 people were killed last year by a tsunami wave of up to ten metres.

My understanding is that they will open the Facebook page on interview day (weren't you paying attention?  July 5th).  I'll try to remember to check on that.

And now, this morning's pics.  Remember the buck who grabbed his buddy and split the other day?  This time they decided to play tag with us all over the woods.

Later on, I told a jogger headed that way where to watch.  He must have run into them, because about 5 minutes later they came tearing across the south end of the woods as we were on the ravine trail.