Where did the Stars and Stripes in Gwanghwamun Plaza come from?

This video by Xiangyu is quite worthwhile. His comparison to the Korean colonial experience is insightful. Was the memory of the brutal Japanese colonization of Taiwan lost? It prompted a number of reflections on Korean history of my own depicted below the video.

South Korean perspective on patriotism renewed by President Lee Jae-myung.

I’d be interested to know what role Japan’s MoFA had in facilitating Abe Akie’s meeting with Putin on 29 May. Officially Japan’s govt warns citizens against all travel to Russia. As well as meeting Putin & Ushakov, Akie went to the Bolshoi in Putin’s limo. https://t.co/ZEsvmsfey0

...doesn't seem to be easing.

Earlier, I posted a link concerning the large allied task force that had been operating in the Philippine Sea within the last two weeks.

USS Carl Vinson To Drill with French Carrier, Japanese Destroyer Carrier

Trump taps ex-NSC official involved in NK diplomacy as under secretary of state

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated a former White House official who was involved in diplomacy with North Korea during his first term, as under secretary of state for political affairs, according to Congress.

The world is in flux. Things are changing as the balance of power shifts from West to East. In a desperate bid to maintain US hegemony, there are efforts to stir up both an Iranian conflict and use Taiwan as Ukraine 2.0. There is push back. There are massive protests in Germany as farmers and truckers join forces to demand their government serve the needs of their people rather than Ukraine. South Africa's case against Israel's genocide in Gaza made it to court this week dealing another blow to western hegemony. Things are indeed in a state of flux....hopefully for the better.

(11 min) St. George's great routine on time...

Seeking Peace in Troubled Times

It is a bit ironic to call for peace when your own country is stirring up most of the world's conflicts, and boy, oh boy, was that on display this week. Perhaps Pelosi's visit to Taiwan this week has triggered the start of WWIII. It sure has started a major confrontation between the US and China. That's on top of the Ukrainian proxy war with Russia... initiated by the US led 2014 Nazi coup in Ukraine. And as if that isn't enough, we continue to persecute American neighbors Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. We're fomenting trouble in the ME in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. We drone people in Afghanistan from which we have officially withdrawn, and additionally have stolen the wealth of this very poor country. And it goes on and on in Kosovo, Africa, and around the world. Is there a way to stop US aggression? Cause I can't see the escape hatch.

The Nimitz and Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike groups are currently in the South China Sea carrying out the Orwellian-named Freedom of Navigation Operations.
Meanwhile, Congress is preparing to draw a line in the sand.