The future

Robert at the Hole has translated portions of a Chosun article on predictions for Korea.

I'm sure not even one of you has already been to the Hole lately. Please go over and have a look. Robert needs more visitors. You'll also find a great advertisement to help you meet Korean girls, and another for funny T-shirts, which I'm sure will also help you score with the ladies.

Cause God knows us white guys need all the help we can get over here.

Speaking of predictions, just in case any of you were wondering how the World's Greatest Psychic fared in her predictions for 2007, wonder no more.



Montel Williams gave this hag a forum for her unethical bullshit for years. Montel was a marine before becoming a media whore. He has sat through years and years of Sylvia giving wrong prediction after wrong prediction, but never hesitated having her back on the show. Hal Bidlack, a retired Lt. Colonel from the air force, wrote an open letter to Montel asking him what has happened to his honor as a marine.

I have two Korean female friends who regularly go to fortune tellers. Both know I am vocal about my disbelief in this crap, so every time they think they get some amazing results from their fortune tellers they come running to me to justify their superstition. I've asked them to record the conversation with the fortune teller rather than rely on their memory of what was (and especially of what actually wasn't) said, but they never seem to get around to it. Truth is, they just don't really want to know.

Randi in Korea Part 2

As promised, I wanted to do a follow up post when Randi returned to Korea and did a number of shows on SBS a few years back in which he had a field day with various Korean psychics and fortune tellers.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find much information on it on Randi's web site. This link gives some information (scroll down near the end), but not much.

I happened to see one of the shows purely by chance. As I recall, the program had rounded up about 12 or so of Korea's 'top fortunetellers' and they were tested on their ability to wildly guess predict a certain location in Seoul where something had been hidden (they had to guess the district only, not the exact location). By chance alone at least one of the psychics should have been right, but they all failed. The camera showed these fortunetellers with embarrassed sheepish smiles as the results were presented. Randi then said to the fortune tellers, 'write down your predictions of what I will do in one minute', and then 60 seconds later dropped his pants and mooned them all, while shouting 'kiss my big white bright ass you fucking frauds!'  You could tell by the shocked expressions of the fortune tellers that they had all failed to see that coming.

Note, it was a few years since I saw that show, so  my memory of certain details of that show might be a little off, but you get the gist.

I was not surprised that EBS allowed Randi to expose frauds from other Asian countries on the show, but it was jaw-dropping to see them allow Randi to show up Korean fortunetellers. The experience for Randi was the opposite of what he had to go through with the KBS clowns some 7-8 years earlier.

A few Randi fan club Internet communities popped up afterwards, but that was about the extent of his impact here.  I haven't heard of any such shows like that since.

On that same link above Randi talks about some Korean magicians. I've seen
the guy on the left on TV, but not the happy sprite on the right whom Randi describes as 'winsome'. (the proper authorities have been notified).

By the way, here's another good clip of Randi doing an old experiment on horoscopes/astrology with a university class. If you have the stomach for it, scroll down the comments to those arguing for astrology.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of idiotic beliefs, if you believe the 'Blood type-personality theory' (the idea that your ABO blood type dictates your personality traits), you should know that it's been scientifically proven that you are at best border-line retarded. We forgive you just so long as you promise not to breed (especially if you happen to be blood type B, you selfish pricks!).

I hope this comes as no surprise to anyone that psychics and
fortunetellers have a long track record of dismal failure. Top American
psychic, Sylvia Browne (her last name has an extra 'e' on it, how
mysterious!) annually makes a host of predictions each year that not
only fail miserably, but often even defy the odds of her being right occasionally just by
chance alone. Here's an article on
her most recent failures. On Montell Williams back in 2000 she predicted Gore would win the presidency, by the way. But don't lose hope fellow democrats, she later said that her 'vision' was just off time-wise, and that Gore would later become our President. Bank on it!

And yet her many public failures don't seem to matter at all. The money
keeps rolling in from idiots who are 'open-minded' enough to believe
her despite all the evidence screaming to the contrary.

Now I already know what some of you will say; 'Sure Pooper, there are dishonest people like Syvia Brownee (notice that the additional 'e' added to 'Browne' no longer has a positive impact on the perception of the name. Linguists, take note). But that doesn't mean ALL fortune tellers are wrong. Once I went to a fortune teller and she correctly predicted blah blah blah and even blah blah blah...'

To which I say the following: the next time you feel compelled to go to a fortune teller, get a reading for both you and a friend who is similar to you in general categories such as gender, marital status, etc.. Take along a tape recorder and transcribe everything he/she says for both of your readings. Put the transcriptions in a safe place and then take a look at them 6 or so months later and see just how accurate they really are. Most likely you'll be surprised by the discrepency of what your reading actually says (and doesn't say) and what you remembered (such are the limitations of human memory).

Next, count up the number of 'predictions' that seem close to being accurate and the number of those which seem inaccurate. Now look over the predictions for your friend and see how well they apply to YOU. Odds are, you'll find BOTH sets of predictions either more or less equally accurate for you, even though one wasn't supposed to be about you at all.

Finally, after going through all these steps, make an effort not to be a moron by going to a fortune teller ever again.  Otherwise, you're no different than the Slyvia Browne followers.

Comments on the original blog entry

Great post. I had to wonder why the hell Drudge saw fit to throw up a link to this article on fortune-telling. THIS counts as news?

URL to the article in question:
http://tinyurl.com/38wtu2

By the way, not far behind "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is a book called "We Are Their Heaven," which sits in the Top 5 on Amazon.com. At the moment I'm writing this, the book occupies the #3 and #4 spots. Check out the link and see what "We Are Their Heaven" is about. This'll put your finger on the pulse of American public consciousness.

URL to Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/22ho3o


Kevin

PS: Is there a reason why HTML is not enabled in comments? Have there been spam issues? I see that hyperlinks appear automatically when I write a full URL, but I was unable to code an anchored link. I was also unable to italicize certain words in this comment. When I hit "preview," I saw that all italics had disappeared. Most disconcerting.

Posted by: Kevin Kim | February 16, 2007 at 09:21 AM

If you want to see something really depressing, go to the link below, fill out the 5 question poll, and check out the results.

http://www.oprah.com/tows/intheworks/tows_works_belief.jhtml

50k plus responses from housewives across America, and the tally would make James Randi cry in his beer. My own Cass-uh has already been watered down with sorrow.

I haven't seen the Oprah episode in question (and I hope that phrase doesn't put me on the Pooper's Gaywatch), but the fact that she gave notorious douchebag John Edward a platform to promote his grief-whoring racket is a goddamn fucking shame.

Posted by: iheartblueballs | February 17, 2007 at 02:26 AM

Here's something for your wall:

http://tinyurl.com/2mulhc

Posted by: ders | February 17, 2007 at 10:47 PM

I suspect that if not for Randi's support of them, you'd note and mock the gayness of the Korean magicians. At least, I'm suspending any judgment given Randi's words on the matter.

Posted by: Shawn | February 24, 2007 at 07:27 AM

Party Pooper needs an update soon or else we will all migrate to Occidentalism to get our daily amusement from Korean-bashing, revisionist, Japanese-worshiping bloggers and their followers

Posted by: MarkMilton | February 27, 2007 at 10:06 PM

Randi in Korea Part 1

p>I stumbled upon this while over at James Randi's site. Randi is a former stage magician who has spent the last few decades debunking psychics and other con men who prey on the gullible.

It is a recount of his trip to Korea in 1995 to take part in a TV show. For almost everyone who has spent some time working in Korea, regardless of the kind of work they do, this story will sound all too familiar.

Some of the choicer bits that took place once he arrived:

Nothing, but nothing, took place as planned.  People would call, arrange to

meet me, and never show up.  There was little, if any, understanding of what

I was there to do, though I'd gone into exquisite detail on the faxes.  It

took us two days to discover that the Big Producer, Mr. Kim*, had been

misinformed; he thought I was a genuine psychic!

Well, that posed a major problem.  I'd outlined 16 tricks-of-the-psychics I

would do, along with explanations.  And I did them all at the production

meetings, to establish that they'd work.  Everyone oooohed and ahhhhed, but

Kim was quite troubled.  He finally announced that I would wear a silver

robe and hat, and declare it all to be the real thing.  I counter-announced

that I'd do no such thing, and he could only get that costume onto my

corpse.  [Would like to have heard the interpreters handle that one]. Kim suggested that I say that some of what I did was fake, but most

of it was real.  I said no.  He told me I could say that most of what I did

was fake, but some was real.  Nyet, nein, no, non.  We were not at all happy

with each other, and Kim kept saying that the Korean people like to believe

that psychic stuff is real, and they would expect me to say that it is.

"A silver robe and hat", that's just classic. It reminded me of the last time I saw local celebrity Isaac Durst on his latest TV show teaching English to kids. He was wearing a jester's suit, complete with the jingle-bell hat for no apparent reason whatsoever. I can just see his own Mr Kim: PD' coming up with this grand idea and Isaac, basically completely bereft of whatever dignity he once had when he first came to Korea, just went along with it.

And Big Producer Kim was right; most people watching these kinds of shows on TV want to oooh and aaah at the supposed supernatural, rather than have some party pooper come along and tell them that its all bullshit that can be done anyone. That's not just Korea, but the sad state of affairs in all of the supposedly enlightened first world countries. Even the Discovery channel stoops to this kind of nonsense repeatedly.

Back to Randi's misadventures in Korea

Note: Mr. Kim wasn't at all interested in the truth of the matter, but only

in what the Korean public wanted to hear.  His lack of respect for their

dignity really annoyed me.  And his confident declarations of psychic powers

that were, he said, part of the lives of Koreans, really depressed me.  When

he ran on about a Korean girl who could read sealed envelopes -- and had

been "tested by scientists!" -- I offered to give her my fee for the

engagement if she could do it for me, just ONCE, but he waved away that

suggestion.  We have an exprssion that involves putting up or shutting up,

but I think it would have been lost on the man.

Be sure to read the rest, especially about how they tried to get around paying Randi his fee.   Par for the course in these parts, Randi. Welcome to the Hub of Asia.

Randi did return to Korea in 2003 and did a series of shows for SBS. This experience went a whole lot better and the shows actually did let Randi expose Korean psychics for the frauds they were.  Not many shows in the West have the decency to do the same thing, so mad props to SBS for this moment, however brief, of sanity.  More on that in Part 2 of Randi in Korea, coming (relatively) soon...

Comments on original blog post

Great Post, sounds about par for the course.

Posted by: EFL Geek | January 25, 2007 at 02:51 AM

Too bad I have not looked through Randi's site enough to find the gem. Thanks for the sharp eyes.

As a counterpoint, if anybody wants to find the Skeptic's Guide podcast of a few weeks ago Randi has some very complementary things to say about Korea as well.

His whole dilemma reminds me of trying to serve cilantro at my old restaurant. Korean's expect not to like it, so you should never serve it. Or so the told me while eagerly shoveling homemade cilantro laced salsa down their gullet.

Posted by: Dram_man | January 25, 2007 at 05:09 AM

Korean TV producers exclusively use the Ooooooh-meter when making programming choices. Frauds and con artists (read: psychics and fortune tellers) get plenty of airtime, not only because Koreans are eternal suckers for the supernatural, but because the entire culture is inundated with crap of a similar vein like blood-type bullshit, golden pigs, street psychics, lucky grave sites, CHINESE MEDICINE and on and on. Authoritarian culture + general lack of skepticism + inherent "trust" in your seniors/parents/authority figures + inability to differentiate science from pseudo-science = Absolutely Gullible.

I would have to disagree, Pooper, with your assessment that not many shows in the West have the decency to expose psychics. Of course the dipshit talk shows (with Larry King, Montel, Maury Povich, etc. being the worst offenders) tend to book asshats like John Edwards, Sylvia Browne, and Something Van Something and give them free reign to talk with the dead without much skepticism. But the news magazines (20/20, Dateline, Primetime) do a solid job of digging deeper and exposing the manipulation and bullshit behind the entire industry.

Watch James Randi's account of how he and Johnny Carson exposed famous (at the time) spoon-bending douchebag Uri Geller on the Tonight Show. It's a classic. Carson part starts at 5:42. There's also a sweet healing-preacher he exposes at the end of the vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9w7jHYriFo

Randi for Preznit.

Posted by: iheartblueballs | January 26, 2007 at 11:19 PM

partypooper is pooping everywhere here!!! iIt rocks!..... yeah..... u really need to go pro with this! ;)

Posted by: partypooperwannabe | March 05, 2007 at 09:06 PM

Hwang Woo Suck: Fish in a Barrel

[Note, those who found Oranckay's new banner to be a bit mean might just want to skip this post. I've been holding this in for about a month and now that I finally have time to excrete it, I can't say it smells none to pretty.]

Korea is always hungry for world attention (something both North and South Korea have in common) and thanks to Professor Hwang, they got it in spades. Jeff has perhaps the best summary of the whole scandal (I'll have to put myself on the Korean Gaywatch for this comment, but Jeff, that's one damn fine voice you've got there,  big guy. If Sillysally wasn't obsessed with you enough before, I'm sure your audio-blogs will put her over the edge).

What I find most interesting about the whole scandal is just how deliciously slimey Hwang has been to the bitter end (I won't give away the final act, but the scene takes place at the Han River). At every turn Hwang has looked the Korean people right in the eyes and lied his ass off. Even now he still rants about being the victim of a "long planned conspiracy."

"I definitely have the source technology to produce tailored embryonic
stem cells," Hwang was quoted as saying in Beopbo. "I can replicate the
process any time."

He repeated his claim that the laboratory samples found to have
been falsified must have been switched and that a state prosecutor's
investigation into the claims of a sample swap would reveal the truth
"within a couple of days."

Ah yes. He can "replicate the process anytime" but doesn't because..., uh...  Hmm.

Let me get back to you on that one.

I think our dear Hwang has gotten so used to lying he's become delusional, but who knows? Maybe he has been the victim of a great conspiracy. Sure, that's it. Somebody switched the real samples for the simple and obvious reason that...uh...well, um..

Ok, I've got it now! You see, clearly by switching the samples someone could...uh...well...

Damn, stumped again. The world of science is indeed quite perplexin', ain't it?

 

Here's a picture of the good doctor Hwang doing his best scheming Montgomery Burn's impression as he thinks up other fraudulent claims he can make to keep the money ($40 million to date and worth every penny!) pouring in from the Korean government.

Excellent....

About 50% of Koreans want to give Hwang another try, and I say why the hell the not? It's been damn good entertainment and it saddens me to think it might end so soon. Be sure to check out the comments after the article.

Here are my favorite highlights of the Hwang drama.

The lies started when he claimed he didn't know that members from his own research team 'volunteered' their own eggs. He kept this lie up for about a year until he finally had to confess it. Even then, though, he claimed that he found out after the fact when the two female researchers told him about it. Yeah. Sure.

Here's Hwang playing the 'victim card' like a pro. Back when MBC was first questioning his work, our poor little guy got sick from the stress and was unable to continue his work. Now, some may say he really was sick because he knew the gig was up, but I don't think so. If that had been the case, no cameras would have been let into the room to dramatize the scene. It was as staged as they come in a desperate bid to win sympathy and rage from the Korean public to shut down the meddling kids at MBC. And it almost worked if only those around him were as devoid of conscience as he seems to be.

Yup, lots of stuff posted by Netizens that is coming back to haunt them hard now. Here's a particular goodie portraying PD Notebook producer as the devil persecuting the poor Professor Hwang who only wanted to cure the sick and make the paralyzed walk again.

Uh, yeah, thanks a lot there Jesus. I've got you right after Christian Scientists and Benny Hinn on my list of people to see if I ever have a spinal cord injury.

Of course, Big Nose Schatten is in the background running off now that he has stolen Hwang's core technology. F*cking USA!

Cheer up Professor Hwang!

The Adventures of Doctor Hwang and the Fantastic Hub of Super Fun-time Power Cutey Kids!

Wonder Chopstick Powers Activate!   

Why not? It's all just fantasy anyway!

Playing the nationalism card.
Here's a picture from an article on how Korea's superior chopstick skills led to Hwang's great 'breakthroughs.' That Hwang not only lied about the research, but then had the balls to attribute their fake findings to the great Korean work ethic and chopstick heritage is just icing on the Hwang Shitcake. Given just a little more time, I'm sure Hwang could have found a way to link kimchi to their great success as well (but don't get me started on all the bullshit research on that topic...)

Hwang's nationalistic babble and Korea's intense need to feel good about itself  led to a host of books about Hwang, particularly aimed at children. Here's one of the better titles (see Occidentalism for more, including the infamous "Hey Children, Let's Learn from the Success of Doctor Hwang!"). Note how America is placed in the background with Hwang symbolically leading people away to the East. Tangun only knows how many hours of  racial-superiority propaganda Korean teachers got out of this before Hwang fell on his pompous ass.

 

Before and after.

This is perhaps the saddest picture of the lot (though a picture of a weeping Korean child dumping the above book in a trash can would probably beat it).

Wait, I take that back. These are far worse.

Arise and walk, my son!

Handicapped people visiting the World Hub of Stem Cell research.

Here's Hwang and Korean singer Kang Won-rae who was paralyzed in a motorcylce accident several years ago (ironically from a music group called 'Clone').

From an article on Kang and Hwang (hey, that rhymes!).

Hwang publicly said last year he was moved by a letter Kang had written
asking for help so he could walk again, and has said his research
results would help patients like Kang. "That Hwang's research gave
patients like us even a fraction of hope is a great joy,” Kang said. “I
hope the research goes without snags."

 

Ouch.

Ain't Hwang grand? He knew his research was bogus, but still had the
nerve to meet and ham it up with paralyzed patients who looked to him
for hope. Quite a piece of work this guy, eh? I guess once you've stooped this low, doing something like bribing your subordinates to keep quiet isn't such a stretch. (a good question for our esteemed doctor: If you really did conduct the research successfully and you are a victim of a conspiracy, exactly why is it that you gave that kind of money to keep people quiet?)

To truly appreciate what Hwang has done, we need to step back and imagine all the time and energy that went into this scam. This is not your run of the mill bad study that fudges with the statistics a bit to get the desired results. This was a long-planned fraud that required countless hours of writing up imaginary results and getting who knows how many people to play along. I imagine this whole mess started at a meeting a year or two ago that went something like this:

Hwang: So people, we've blown 40 million US bucks on this research and we don't have much to show for it. What are we going to do?

Researcher Kim: (jokingly), Well, we could just fake some research to keep the money coming in and hope that things work out later.

[the researchers then have a good chuckle, followed by period of meaningful, thoughtful silence, then furtive glances at the faces of their colleagues. Hwang then thanks the staff for the very 'productive' brainstorming session, and begins his trip to the dark side...]

 

The happy family and their dogs

I wonder what will happen to the dog if it turns out he wasn't cloned. If I had a little mad money, I'd buy it and make 'Snuppy' the official mascot of me bloog. I'd take him (her?) for walks around the SNU campus and make sure I snap some good pictures of Snuppy pissing on the wall of the 'World Stem Cell Hub' building. I imagine Marmot would try to buy him off me just to find out what a faked cloned dog tastes like, but I would kindly (yet firmly) decline.

Schatten: Do you think they're all really going to buy this?

Hwang: Just keep smiling whiteboy, we're money.

Is it just me? Or does Schatten seem just as slimey as Hwang? At the very least, he has a bad habit of talking out of his ass. Here's a great quote from Schatten back in the good ol' days:

"There is full transparency, full openness and no ambiguity," said
Gerald Schatten, a stem-cell researcher at the University of Pittsburgh
who collaborated with the Korean researchers.

God, what a moron.

 

The wrong stuff

Our good friend Hwang was certainly not camera shy and played the media
to the hilt, never hesitating to let photographers enter the lab and
take some shots of him and his mighty crew in action. It's amazing how
much free time you have for this kind of thing when you just fake your work!

Hey, look at me working!

Yessir, 365 days a year they worked in that lab, Hwang once boasted. That sounded fairly impressive way back when, but quite pathetic now when it turns out they hadn't done much but pose for pictures and lie during all that time.

Here's a happy fun interview with Hwang before the scandal broke out.
Some choice tidbits.

"The stem cell researchers who've looked at the results are unable to
suppress their excitement,” he says. “Scientists who screened the
article I submitted to the journal Science are calling it a 'stem cell
tsunami.'"

[Oh yeah, it turned out to be tsunami all right, with all the destruction that comes with it. Sure were happy with yourself way back then Hwangy boy, weren't ya?]

- You've managed to come up with outstanding research results in the
short time since you restarted embryonic cloning in October.

"That's because I completed all the preparations before starting.
Because we'd built up a lot of experience through prior research, we
were able to reduce the amount of trial and error."

Oh yeah, that and the fact that the whole thing was bullshit. I guess you can get a lot of  research done when you don't have to go through the formalities of actually doing anything. Even the fake photos were just recycled from previous published studies (talk about getting lazy...)

 

Now Hwang's previous research of the past 10 years is being put to the test. I say why stop there? Hwang would not be the first Korean to cheat and plagiarize his way through college. Sounds a little harsh, I know, but just ask anyone who teaches in a university about the average Korean student's views and practices on 'cunning' (Konglish for cheating). Frauds of this magnitude just don't come out of the blue, I'm sure he had his training somewhere.

Though most of the Korean public is no longer fooled by Hwang, he still has his loyal followers. Just last New Year's Eve they had another candlelight rally for Hwang, which I found very appropriate as it has sort of a funeral  feel to it.

They knew it was Hwang, but it felt so  right!

Some other random notes

Baduk was right along and I hereby proclaim him a Prophet of God.  I
encourage all bloggers and commenters to stop disagreeing with Him from
now on and just accept all that He says without question. If you disagree, I'm sure
he'll be willing to write a 5,000+ word response to show you are wrong.

The word of 2005 is NOT hub

I'm not really the type to defend the 'purity' of the English language, but I really think Korea should no longer be allowed to use the word 'hub' for any further bullshit ambitious projects. If this keeps up, 'hub' will become synonymous with 'nationalistic pipe-dream' or 'cesspool.'

Good on Korea

As much fun as it is see someone like Hwang and the uber-nationalist clones who followed him fall on their collective asses on the world stage (come on, admit it everyone, hasn't this been a great ride?), it should be pointed out that the uncovering of this deceit was done purely within Korea, despite intense public pressure not to say a single bad word about Emperor Hwang and his invisible clothes.

Props to MBC for choosing the truth over nationalistic pride. In the long run, that is what true patriotism is all about. Props to Roh Sung-il for coming clean despite the pressure and cost to his own career. The picture on the left is of a person who knows he fucked up and is trying to make things right. Hwang seems beyond redemption.

No props for Kim Seon-jong for confessing the fraud when he thought that the gig was already up, but then reversing his story when pimp-daddy Hwang gave him $30,000 in hush money. Your career is over, dude, should have kept the money and opened up a quickie-mart in Seoul.

What, me worry?

Anyway, I would like to end on a positive note and proclaim that I am 300% sure that Hwang will overcome these trials and go on to lead Korea to a brilliant future.

Keep the faith, brother!

Comments on original post



They knew it was Hwang, but it felt so right!

Best quote of 2006 for me right there. Sure it's only been 2 days.

Posted by: Joel | January 02, 2006 at 08:38 AM

hehehe. great post. you could make this the Miss Korea of all blogs if you would only post more frequently.

Posted by: Paul | January 03, 2006 at 07:09 AM

Brilliant...simply brilliant.

Posted by: Nomad | January 03, 2006 at 05:16 PM

Great stuff...look forward to more in the Year of the (Not Cloned) Dog.

Posted by: Giant Panda | January 03, 2006 at 05:53 PM

Great post....and yes, it's nice to see Schatten properly fisked too, there is something snake-oilish about that guy. I remember when he came to Korea 2 weeks agao, at the press conference he was asked in perfect English by a reporter "So is this a fraud, and what do you know about it?" and he started this ridiculous baby-talk English "I JUST CAME OVER ON A PLANE, YOU SEE? ON A PLAAAANE. MY BRAIN IS NOT WORKING. NOT WOOOORKING. IT'S JETLAG. (circling motion around his ear) BRAIN NOT WORKING".

Yeah, if you're done with the goo-goo English could you answer the damn question please? Perhaps in syntax and diction that reflects, oh, your job of professor?

God, what a moron.

Posted by: Hugh | January 03, 2006 at 06:18 PM

I particularly like the props to Baduk for his prescience...that was priceless.

Great post...you have been added to my blogmarks...great stuff

Posted by: dg611 | January 03, 2006 at 06:19 PM

i have to disagree with your comment that the word 'hub' is being overused, its just being used in thre wrong situations. some appropriate uses would be: Hub of academic fraud, hub of men wearing make-up, hub of media inaccuracy (although this would prob be NK, as bad as SK is), hub of bad driving, and i'm sure there are plenty more.

Posted by: rowan | January 03, 2006 at 06:35 PM

Outstanding.

If loving you is Hwang... I don't wanna be right...

Posted by: gar | January 04, 2006 at 01:11 AM

Excellent job of fisking the whole business and reminding us of all that was said and done.

Jeffery Hodges

* * *

Posted by: Horace Jeffery Hodges | January 04, 2006 at 01:16 AM

Good stuff.. but it was not just Koreans who brought him down. Lots of people from the NYT and Nature were asking questions, but all the people were stonwalling.

Posted by: LordBeaverton | January 04, 2006 at 02:51 AM

Nice post. At first I has trouble getting my head around the issue because I couldnt see the big deal about one scientist committing fraud. But when I realised the nationalist implications, I could see something was up. Nationalism and science dont mix.

Posted by: Matt | January 04, 2006 at 03:12 AM

Jeez, Jeff in Korea does have a good voice for audio blogging! Does he have a media background?

Posted by: Matt | January 04, 2006 at 03:14 AM

Geee... Thanks Poop and Matt. Five years as a radio DJ/announcer/host before taking up the Law in order to be able to afford a few more luxury items...such as food and shelter.

Posted by: Jeff in Korea | January 04, 2006 at 08:49 PM

Great post and I have to agree with Matt that it certainly helped to clarify things in a kind of way. Now perhaps you could enlighten us on the George Bush school of fabrication although I would guess we'd need a larger bandwidth. At least Hwang didn't take too many lives in the process of his bullshit (should it be proven to be the case etc etc) unlike some ................

Posted by: Leone | January 07, 2006 at 02:52 AM

but but Bushie, he lie, migook bad, wah wah wah

so Hwang is not as bad...Korean logic at its finest

Posted by: Giant Panda | January 07, 2006 at 06:59 PM