tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post1261848709941291446..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Taipei Land Prices Hit New HighsMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-79248362875253972162010-07-27T17:57:28.955+08:002010-07-27T17:57:28.955+08:00@Michael: "when lying serves their purposes b...@Michael: "when lying serves their purposes better than an uncomfortable truth might"<br /><br />The problem is that their conclusion, that North Korea attacked, seems like the most inconvenient one for South Korea and the US. Wouldn't it have been much easier to admit that the ship hit a reef, or was accidentally sunk by a US submarine, or was sucked down by a hitherto unknown race of mutant sea urchins? Unless you think there's a strategic decision to ratchet up tension with North Korea? Which puts us back on the "the CIA blew up the WTC to provoke a war" line of thinking. I guess it's possible, but....<br /><br />Obviously the investigation, or at least the presentation by ROK, wasn't handled well. But to jump from that to doubting its conclusions? Not so sure about that. But like I said, it's of a piece with this blog's take on the KMT -- "[do not] trust [at all, ever], but verify". Ha ha ha. Get out your Reagan sweater.Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-88598487320785035312010-07-27T17:37:35.361+08:002010-07-27T17:37:35.361+08:00I could accept a US government investigation easil...I could accept a US government investigation easily, provided that it wasn't of something that the US and South Korea have a long history of lying about, when lying serves their purposes better than an uncomfortable truth might. <br /><br />I hope that the US will grow up and release the data that the conclusions are based on. But somehow I don't think that will happen.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-45697758363553688362010-07-27T17:31:56.310+08:002010-07-27T17:31:56.310+08:00@Karl: "Those Japan Focus articles reek of 9/...@Karl: "Those Japan Focus articles reek of 9/11 Truther stench." <br /><br />Hear hear.<br /><br />@Michael: "You don't have to buy any particular theory to understand that an investigation conducted by nations currently at war with North Korea, in which the sole international member quit, isn't valid."<br /><br />I agree with you totally. I think that the PRC, Russia, Venezuela and Iran will conduct a much more unbiased investigation and I will await their verdict before I rush to judgment on this. If they determine that "it's hard to say conclusively what happened", I guess we'll have to live with that.<br /><br />But seriously, the reason I think this is interesting is it exhibits a historically evolved creditability gap at work in these post-authoritarian East Asian countries. 20% of South Koreans doubt the report because they don't trust anything their government does, especially not Lee's conservative party, and they hate the US for propping up the anti-democratic regimes of the 40s to 70s. On the other side, you have the paternalistic idiots in the government who just dismiss these doubts as irrational, instead of realizing that their own way of handling things -- behind closed doors, summary evidence, "it's so because I say so" logic -- only adds fuel to the fire. It's a sad situation, really. You wonder how they're going to get over this historical hump.<br /><br />Similar situation for the KMT in Taiwan, no? Perhaps not as extreme though.Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-87359296808009879452010-07-27T17:03:09.895+08:002010-07-27T17:03:09.895+08:00The point is that all these stories have been out ...The point is that all these stories have been out there for three months, and not picked up by the media in the West. <br /><br /><b>Same tone and tactics used by conspiracy theorists since Kennedy got shot. </b><br /><br />ROFL. I prefer to wait until the evidence is in. Otherwise I'd probably still believe that a couple of gay lovers blew themselves up along with 50 of their pals in the turret of the Missouri, or that N Vietnamese patrol boats attacked US vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, or that there were WMDs in Iraq, or that North Korea made an unprovoked surprise attack on South Korea in time of peace, or that the kill ratio of US to North Korean/USSR fighters was 10:1. Etc.<br /><br />You don't have to buy any particular theory to understand that an investigation conducted by nations currently at war with North Korea, in which the sole international member quit, isn't valid. Taught by history, I'll wait for the evidence.<br /><br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-48581962004002904742010-07-27T10:28:33.371+08:002010-07-27T10:28:33.371+08:00Read three of the original four. Same tone and tac...Read three of the original four. Same tone and tactics used by conspiracy theorists since Kennedy got shot. <br /><br />From the LA Times article: <br /><br />"more than 20% of the public doesn't believe North Korea sank the Cheonan".<br /><br />Bwah hah hah hah. More than 20% of *any* public believes in demonic possession, that the world is going to end in 2012, or that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. Once again, I can play *that* game all day long too.Chaonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716593360671034412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-88995001932420715342010-07-26T17:02:44.279+08:002010-07-26T17:02:44.279+08:00LOL. Did you read any?LOL. Did you read any?Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-32157938261555386262010-07-26T15:23:05.358+08:002010-07-26T15:23:05.358+08:00Those Japan Focus articles reek of 9/11 Truther st...Those Japan Focus articles reek of 9/11 Truther stench. <br /><br />The articles are supposed to "engage important anomolies [sic] in early ROK official accounts"? <br /><br />Hell, I can play that game all day long, with any event you name.Chaonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716593360671034412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-41952113847024131592010-07-26T08:08:28.634+08:002010-07-26T08:08:28.634+08:00Hahah well put. Taiwan's population is decreas...Hahah well put. Taiwan's population is decreasing. I was thinking about that as I was recording all this yesterday. That's why the financial institutions want China to come over.<br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-17982967350292667052010-07-26T08:04:21.270+08:002010-07-26T08:04:21.270+08:00Taiwan population is either flat or decreasing rig...Taiwan population is either flat or decreasing right? However, always remember, market can stay irrational longer than most people can stay solvent!Artynoreply@blogger.com