News Stories

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by chikorita157

I think that schools need to reform their policy so something like this won't happen... You know that punishing the bully and/or victim would end up making the parents sue or fight the school...

But then again, in college, I never had to put up with this bullying crap because most of the bullies never get their foot in a good college in most cases.

Again schools aren't the only problem, just saying schools this and that doesn't change the fact that when most people see a case of bullying they turn the blind eye, this issue is beyond just schools, I'm not saying the schools aren't broken but I'm saying the whole damn machine is missing parts.

[danin8r44]

Originally Posted by Claies

Except, in retrospect, the well-known "fact" that the shooters of Columbine were bullied has fallen under suspicion.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=colum...fp=OlAWEoQSgPM

It really all comes back to the school trying to protect its own image with little regard to what happens under the hood. As long as there's no shooting, they're fine. Since victimized people shoot, as long as there are no victimized people, they're fine. Since they can't be bothered to find out who the victims and victimizers are, as long as they deal with depressed people, it's close enough.

The message I'm really getting is this: "We don't care what's going on, as long as there's no violence." Everything harebrained is built upon this.

Ain't life grand? I'm glad I left the public school system.

Nah, I live right by and had alot of friends in Columbine. My friends mom was a teacher there at the time of the attack as well. All stories that I have ever heard from kids who went to that school seem to indicate that the shooters were bullied. The extent to which they were bullied I'm not sure on, but given the nature of the jocks at that school at that time along with all the stories I've heard I can say with a very high degree of certainty that they were bullied.

[Shadow Kira01]

Based on the following considerations..

1) Self-defense is just but violence with regards to bullying in school is not justified. The term "self-defense" is just too vague. On the contrary, it is true that tons of kids do enroll themselves into self-defense martial arts training places and they are taught that there are times when Buddha himself would be angry and will choose to fight back. Unfortunately..

2) It depends on how people define self-defense. Seeing so many headlines of mass shootings and suicides, I have to say that self-defense should not occur on school grounds. It occurs to me that lots of people committing wrong violence considers it as self-defense. This also applies to the boy who punched and broke the nose of another recently. Is that legitimate self-defense? I totally do not consider it as such.

If a white boy tells a Korean boy "f*cking Chinese" and he breaks his nose. What happens if a white man tells a Korean man the same thing? Will the guy get stabbed or gunned down?? A single negative slur ends up getting a broken nose for exchange is definitely not self-defense. True, the white boy was bullying the kid but he did not deserved a broken nose. The Korean boy should have shouted something mean back, yet he chose violence.

It is just like.. A typical case in which an adult punches another adult and gets gunned down, then the case ends up as a racial discrimination one. That doesn't right.. A racist punches a bullied victim and the bullied victim guns down the racist, is this self-defense?

3) Based on the anime Shigofumi, the story of the half-dead person. It appears that every class, there is an unlucky individual who is treated as a stress-releaser meaning that one person in a class will be selected to be bullied on by everyone else. They will poke him on the back with a sharp pencil, put garbage into his backpack, mess up his desk, beat him up whenever they feel like, make him appear as a fool whenever they feel like it, and they might even go as far as pushing him off a school building masking it as a suicide over depression. Once the bullied victim dies, they will choose another individual as a replacement. The teachers usually turn a blind eye, not wanting to get involved as the fact that the consequences may be severe if they do. And when somebody wants to help the bullied victim but gets intimidated by the bullies themselves, they will most likely join the bullies in the sense of fitting in rather than joining the victim of bullying to experience the unpleasant.

Its episode 6:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Kōichi Kikukawa is being bullied in his class, and via an Internet message board one of his classmates named Shunsuke Morishita realizes that the person on the message board is actually Kōichi. Before long, Kōichi kills himself, and Shunsuke takes up Kōichi's previous role as the bullied. Shunsuke finally realizes what Kōichi had been going through and is finding it very difficult to go on living. One night while being bullied after school, Fumika shows up and delivers a letter from Kōichi to Shunsuke; in the letter, Kōichi tells Shunsuke that he wants him to suffer since he bullied him too along with the three other guys. After Fumika leaves, the other three guys go back to bullying Shunsuke, and in a moment of desperation, Shunsuke stabs one of them with a nearby screwdriver.

4) How to properly deal with bullying? The best method would be to tell a nearby teacher or your own homeroom teacher; not every teacher will turn a blind eye or side with the bullies. Some will help you. If not, try not to make a big deal over it. Be strong, ignore it and walk away, never ever resolve it with violence because its not right. Self-defense invites consequences, regardless of who teaches you this method. People who teach you self-defense are not responsible for the consequences of the self-defense methods you choose. Generally, I am suggesting that victims of bullying should learn from Mahatma Gandhi. Do not fight back!

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Vexx

He was appointed by people who thought he was going to be a "big government conservative"... he turned out to actually read the constitution a lot of the time (unlike a few other justices ). There's more than one kind of conservative... just as there's more than one kind of liberal. The two terms (and the political linear graph) are really inadequate to describe anyone.

Let me guess, Scalia.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Shadow Minato

Based on the following considerations..

1) Self-defense is just but violence with regards to bullying in school is not justified. The term "self-defense" is just too vague. On the contrary, it is true that tons of kids do enroll themselves into self-defense martial arts training places and they are taught that there are times when Buddha himself would be angry and will choose to fight back. Unfortunately..

I blame Bush and his concept of "preemptive self-defense", though really, it's been around much longer. Probably since around the time "I felt like it" stopped being a good reason to hit people. It's a shitty reason to turn the other cheek. There are plenty of borderline cases, where it's unclear whether it's self-defense or not, it's true. "When the other guy swings at you, unprovoked" isn't one of them.

2) It depends on how people define self-defense. Seeing so many headlines of mass shootings and suicides, I have to say that self-defense should not occur on school grounds.

And I say self-defense should occur everywhere there's aggression. And that only an idiot would label school shootings as self-defense.

It occurs to me that lots of people committing wrong violence considers it as self-defense.

And some people commit rape and consider it love. Do you have a point?

This also applies to the boy who punched and broke the nose of another recently. Is that legitimate self-defense? I totally do not consider it as such.

That says more about you than about the act. For example, it says you either didn't read the article and are being judgmental without bothering to get the facts, or that your reading comprehension skills are sub-par.

If a white boy tells a Korean boy "f*cking Chinese" and he breaks his nose. What happens if a white man tells a Korean man the same thing? Will the guy get stabbed or gunned down?? A single negative slur ends up getting a broken nose for exchange is definitely not self-defense. True, the white boy was bullying the kid but he did not deserved a broken nose. The Korean boy should have shouted something mean back, yet he chose violence.

Shouting is quite misguided. What he should have done is calmly ask for a retraction. I don't know how calm he was, but the Korean boy did ask for a retraction, and got punched for his trouble. That's what made the broken nose self-defense.

It is just like.. A typical case in which an adult punches another adult and gets gunned down, then the case ends up as a racial discrimination one. That doesn't right.. A racist punches a bullied victim and the bullied victim guns down the racist, is this self-defense?

Hyperbole does little to help your point. And let's say someone engages in unprovoked violence, and gets shot. So? What's so wrong about that?

4) How to properly deal with bullying? The best method would be to tell a nearby teacher or your own homeroom teacher; not every teacher will turn a blind eye or side with the bullies. Some will help you.

Yeah? Where? How? Personal experience speaking: teachers don't want to deal with it. And telling you to shut up, that it is, in fact, your fault, is a much easier way to make the problem go away than actually solving it. Not that they know how to solve it in the first place.

Actually, now that I think of it, there was a case, in my experience, where telling an adult worked. I got beaten a bit. I told my father. So he went to school, and put the kid on the ground (I think the kid had started a shoving match. But I was small, I don't quite remember.). Told him to leave me alone. And he did.

Now that I think about it, we're so lucky it didn't escalate from there. But aside from doing something like that... What can anyone do?

If not, try not to make a big deal over it. Be strong, ignore it and walk away, never ever resolve it with violence because its not right.

You know what I like about resolving it with violence? The fact it resolves it. If you've got an alternative - one that won't provoke a disillusioned laugh from someone who did try non-violent approaches instead of, you know, just talking about it from the sidelines, do tell us.

Self-defense invites consequences, regardless of who teaches you this method. People who teach you self-defense are not responsible for the consequences of the self-defense methods you choose. Generally, I am suggesting that victims of bullying should learn from Mahatma Gandhi.

Even Gandhi acknowledged it only worked on people you could shame. If bullies were like that, they wouldn't take up bullying in the first place.

Do not fight back!

Reward bullying!

[Shadow Kira01]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Reward bullying!

That's not what I mean..

However, I do understand your feelings as a past victim of bullying. It certainly does seem like that the only alternative to stop bullying is fighting back but wouldn't it appear like the majority of the people here are promoting the concept of "show the fist to bullies".

If the bullies don't physically harm you, is it really okay to fight back? Will there be a chance that the one who fought back end up as the "bad guy"? Is it possible for the one who fought back to become disliked? If there are no alternatives, is the exchange of fighting back to discourage bullying for getting disliked all over a good decision? Is it worth it?

I could understand that people are currently studying junior high or high school over in this thread would disagree with me but what about the adults? Would teaching kids to fight back against bullying considered as inappropriate? I do know that many seniors do teach people to fight back against bullies, unless the victims of bullying choose to be a weaklings and cowards.

The world is cruel place in which many places tend to give off the impression that it is the survival of the fittest meaning that if there bullies after you, you should fight back and win. Aside from these pretty words and encouragement/motivation to the weak, sometimes I wonder if this is really a good choice of action against bullying.

It is also true that people who claims to be victims of bullying tend to get looked down upon. After all, it is widely known throughout the world that only the weak get bullied which is possibly the reason why so many people chooses to be bullies. It is such a pity as to why can't people choose co-existence and peaceful relations. Unfortunately, it seems that regardless of the nation, bullies tend to acting outside laws whereas people who get bullied are never protected. This just means that nothing much can be done unless society is re-structured from the core.

[Claies]

I think we're drawing arguments from the wrong contexts. Shadow Minato is very likely to be talking about bullying in the form of verbal violence, in which case physical violence is not an answer, that is true.

But let's read the article again. Here's the link again if you're lazy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l_gam_mostview

Originally Posted by TFA

He had heard his white classmate throw an angry racial slur in his direction after an argument during a gym class game of speedball, and now the student was shoving him backward, refusing to retract the smear.

The white student swung first, hitting the 15-year-old with a punch to the mouth.

The 15-year-old heard his father's voice running through his head: Fight only as a last resort, only in self-defence, only if given no choice, and only with the left hand.

I do believe that most of us mean self-defense as if you've been physically attacked and hitting back is the only way to stop it. You can't just walk away from being punched in the face, every time. At some point you will be injured. Survival instincts would like to dictate otherwise.

That's where I believe most people draw the line. Hitting people for verbal violence is not very acceptable, and is, in fact, something to walk away from.

Confusion gone, hopefully.

Originally Posted by Nosauz

Private is much better hmmm?? Don't be asinine, private schools have had some serious cases of hazing associated with "private school" frats, its not just a private vs public, address the issue and don't strawman, because that doesn't solve anything.

I do stand corrected. I was, in fact, verbally bullied in a private school for roughly a year and a half. Oh well, the whole thing didn't matter in the end, considering I forgot about it!
Institution-wise, though, I've had enough sour memories of public schooling.

========================

On to the Supreme Court. It appears that Obama is pressured to pick a woman or a racial minority judge to replace Souter. Personally, I don't see why. It's not like being in a minority makes you liberal (i.e. Thomas). Symbolism has no place in the Supreme Court - the judges have no reason to act the way their minority pleases.

Care to enlighten, please, anyone?

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by Shadow Minato

That's not what I mean..

However, I do understand your feelings as a past victim of bullying. It certainly does seem like that the only alternative to stop bullying is fighting back but wouldn't it appear like the majority of the people here are promoting the concept of "show the fist to bullies".

If the bullies don't physically harm you, is it really okay to fight back? Will there be a chance that the one who fought back end up as the "bad guy"? Is it possible for the one who fought back to become disliked? If there are no alternatives, is the exchange of fighting back to discourage bullying for getting disliked all over a good decision? Is it worth it?

I could understand that people are currently studying junior high or high school over in this thread would disagree with me but what about the adults? Would teaching kids to fight back against bullying considered as inappropriate? I do know that many seniors do teach people to fight back against bullies, unless the victims of bullying choose to be a weaklings and cowards.

The world is cruel place in which many places tend to give off the impression that it is the survival of the fittest meaning that if there bullies after you, you should fight back and win. Aside from these pretty words and encouragement/motivation to the weak, sometimes I wonder if this is really a good choice of action against bullying.

It is also true that people who claims to be victims of bullying tend to get looked down upon. After all, it is widely known throughout the world that only the weak get bullied which is possibly the reason why so many people chooses to be bullies. It is such a pity as to why can't people choose co-existence and peaceful relations. Unfortunately, it seems that regardless of the nation, bullies tend to acting outside laws whereas people who get bullied are never protected. This just means that nothing much can be done unless society is re-structured from the core.

Dude, I think your a bit detached from reality, in the work place bullying is not tolerated, then why in schools is it allowed? What is up with this hypocrisy, you seem to be justifying your bullying tendencies by saying the kids self defense wasn't when in fact the white kid, got owned in dodge ball, got pissed off, shoved him and then called him a racial slur... that sounds like a imminent threat to ones personal safety, with the contact I would retaliate too. Again I've said this before, solving bullying isn't simply to fight or not to fight, its a lot more than that. Really discuss the real issue not these anecdotal pieces of evidence that are NOT panacea to the issue that is bullying, just from the ignorance on the harms of bullying just baffles me and really explains why its so prevalent.

[chikorita157]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

Dude, I think your a bit detached from reality, in the work place bullying is not tolerated, then why in schools is it allowed? What is up with this hypocrisy, you seem to be justifying your bullying tendencies by saying the kids self defense wasn't when in fact the white kid, got owned in dodge ball, got pissed off, shoved him and then called him a racial slur... that sounds like a imminent threat to ones personal safety, with the contact I would retaliate too. Again I've said this before, solving bullying isn't simply to fight or not to fight, its a lot more than that. Really discuss the real issue not these anecdotal pieces of evidence that are NOT panacea to the issue that is bullying, just from the ignorance on the harms of bullying just baffles me and really explains why its so prevalent.

The problem is that most of the time, the victim will get punished, even more so if the victim is a minority which the administration do absolutely nothing. I have been there and I tried to report the bully to teacher and the administration do absolutely nothing.

It's always best just to try and ignore them... if it's verbal. If it's physical, it's best telling your parents, teacher and also law enforcement especially you are a minority because the school administration won't do anything unless it's school population is diverse.

Bullying can easily be solved if you have a good amount of friends, and you are around them. Most cases, bullies won't bother since they mainly go for people who are anti-social or loners (and some deliberately become anti-social or loner for some reason.)

[Dilla]

Originally Posted by chikorita157

It's always best just to try and ignore them... if it's verbal. If it's physical, it's best telling your parents, teacher and also law enforcement especially you are a minority because the school administration won't do anything unless it's school population is diverse.

I know that racism still exists on the forefront, but isn't that a bit of an assumption? The school board has nothing to gain from bad press becuase some parent of a minority student complaining that they are being discriminated against.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Shadow Minato

That's not what I mean..

However, I do understand your feelings as a past victim of bullying.

It's not a matter of feelings, but of experience. My feelings is that bullying is wrong, especially when it's goes up to the point of physical violence. I believe it's a feeling shared by everyone here, whether they were victims of bullying or not. My experience, both as a former victim and a former teacher, tells me your proposed "solutions" are poppycock.

It certainly does seem like that the only alternative to stop bullying is fighting back but wouldn't it appear like the majority of the people here are promoting the concept of "show the fist to bullies".

We're promoting self-defense, when it's come down to violence already. No one here's advocated hitting first.

If the bullies don't physically harm you, is it really okay to fight back?

A tough question, which hasn't been addressed.

Will there be a chance that the one who fought back end up as the "bad guy"?

In whose eyes?

Is it possible for the one who fought back to become disliked?

And that would be terrible, wouldn't it? Why, he could even end up bullied!

If there are no alternatives, is the exchange of fighting back to discourage bullying for getting disliked all over a good decision? Is it worth it?

Fun fact: being a victim does not make you popular. Being a bad boy, on the other hand... So, it's that your only worry, kick the other bastard in the nuts. Don't hold back.

I could understand that people are currently studying junior high or high school over in this thread would disagree with me but what about the adults? Would teaching kids to fight back against bullying considered as inappropriate? I do know that many seniors do teach people to fight back against bullies, unless the victims of bullying choose to be a weaklings and cowards.

Well, as an adult and a former teacher, I want to tell kids one thing: you guys are on your own. Seriously, there's very little a teacher can do to stop it. I mean, if kids actually listened to them, they wouldn't be bullies. They'd be quiet, hardworking students and would do their homework on time. But there's a depressing number of kids who don't care about how well they do in school.

The world is cruel place in which many places tend to give off the impression that it is the survival of the fittest meaning that if there bullies after you, you should fight back and win. Aside from these pretty words and encouragement/motivation to the weak, sometimes I wonder if this is really a good choice of action against bullying.

And the answer to that is "it depends". "Bullying" covers a lot of situations, from the immediate, urgent "hey, that guy is going to hit me" to habitual insults that make your everyday life unpleasant. And of course, the circumstances outside the bullying also vary wildly. So, really, "it depends". If you don't like it, real life isn't for you.

Originally Posted by Dilla

I know that racism still exists on the forefront, but isn't that a bit of an assumption? The school board has nothing to gain from bad press becuase some parent of a minority student complaining that they are being discriminated against.

Indeed. I believe school administrations are equal opportunity ignorers.

[Irenicus]

Shadow Minato: I admire your stated pacifism and trust in the adult bureaucracy, but...

You know, telling bully victims that they shouldn't fight back no matter what is, in my opinion, a heinous act. These kids are already suffering often severe attacks on their self-esteem and the last thing they need is some know-it-all telling them to back down and bow to the herd.

Originally Posted by chikorita157

The problem is that most of the time, the victim will get punished, even more so if the victim is a minority which the administration do absolutely nothing. I have been there and I tried to report the bully to teacher and the administration do absolutely nothing.

But of course, you first punch back, then you raise hell in the media when the administration does its inevitable fail act.

Journalists are always looking for sensational stories of grave injustices and muckraking is a time-honored tradition. Be really loud and present your case to the right people and if you're lucky the bureaucracy will be shamed into backing down; heck, you might even change a thing or two in the process.

However, usually children cannot do this on their own -- the Canadian town's case is definitely a welcome anomaly in that the kids seem to have taken action into their own hands and completely shamed the adults. First and foremost you usually need an adult who's willing to back you up when some other adults prove that idiocy does not get cured with age. Teachers in real life are not like Onizuka so usually it has to be the parents.

In my own experience, my parents pleasantly surprised me in how completely they supported me when I was expecting to be scolded and punished for my run-in with the school administrations. It helped when your parents can tell you straight to do what you need to do to protect yourself and they'll deal with the rest.

[chikorita157]

But of course, you first punch back, then you raise hell in the media when the administration does its inevitable fail act.

Journalists are always looking for sensational stories of grave injustices and muckraking is a time-honored tradition. Be really loud and present your case to the right people and soon enough the bureaucracy will be shamed into backing down; heck, you might even change a thing or two in the process.

However, usually children cannot do this on their own -- the Canadian town's case is definitely a welcome anomaly in that the kids seem to have taken action into their own hands and completely shamed the adults. First and foremost you usually need an adult who's willing to back you up when some other adults prove that idiocy does not get cured with age. Teachers in real life are not like Onizuka so usually it has to be the parents.

In my own experience, my parents pleasantly surprised me in how completely they supported me when I was expecting to be scolded and punished for my run-in with the school administrations. It helped when your parents can tell you straight to do what you need to do to protect yourself.

Unfortunately, I already graduated from high school so I don't think I should waste my energy and effort to do so, but people who are currently dealing with this... why not?

Indeed. I believe school administrations are equal opportunity ignorers.

This is a big problem in a majority white school. but school administrations in diverse school will most likely do something about it because of their reputation.

Being social rejected and staying like that isn't the answer... a child needs to be trained to get out of it and make friends so he/she can overcome bullying. With friends, bullies won't likely bother with you in most cases. People who stay socially rejected have overhanging depression and also can lead to suicide and/or school shootings... This was the case with the Columbine shooting and also the Virginia Tech shooting, which the shooter had a case of bullying in the past.

[LeoXiao]

I believe that with bullies, there is always a breaking point that you can reach to get them to stop. Usually, I would say it depends on what is going to shock him the most.

There was this particularly nasty 8th grader who specially picked on me for some reason, and every time I came into contact with him he always said something insulting. I got pretty pissed, and it showed, so he just stepped up his verbal attacks. One day, he and one of his henchmen trapped me in the back seat of the bus, saying they wouldn't let me get off at my stop.
I waited for a few minutes until it was my stop (during which the guy was lauding his apparent victory), and then suddenly attacked him, trying to force my way out, and it worked. he tried to restrain me, and the end result was that I escaped, having kicked him twice in the groin and scratched viciously at his neck. His friend looked shocked as well, and did not really participate in the scuffle. Neither the bully nor his friends ever made trouble for me again.

The principle at work here is that you must do something that really scares the crap out of your enemy, probably something he didn't suspect could come from you. In my case, I think that he thought I was a weak person, not the type who would be able to not only force his way past someone blocking him, but attack the groin and neck at the same time (At that point, had the circumstance been slightly different, I might've actually dealt him lasting injuries). Indeed, my foe was most likely scared to death. Sure, he thought I was a complete psycho afterwards, but at least I was a psycho not to be bothered.

Depending on the bully and what image you present to others, varying levels of actions should be taken to scare off a belligerent.

[Nosauz]

Again all the talk is focusing on the consequences of bullying not the actually problem that allows bullies to maneuver freely in society. You guys are arguing about something that really shouldn't have to be argued if we solve the problem of bullies, and I think this comes down to how society treats those who belittle others, again school is supposed to be a safe place for kids to learn, not fear for their lives that their gonna get harassed and assualted.

Again anecdotal evidence is not the solution to bullies, all it is is an anecdotal story of how one person solved ONE problem with a bully not the plethora of bullies out there...

@chikorita... what about those anitsocials? just because they prefer their own company than they should be bullied? We should treat all people with respect even if we disagree with them, but hey I guess I ask too much huh.

[ClockWorkAngel]

The thing is Nosauz, bullying happens, it always does. Children will be children and young adults will be children and so on. There'll always be negativety around people, its just how they deal with it (Being unsocial is a bad move, I was mainly like that when I was in elementry school; thus bullying happened, but I loosened up and talked a good more, in fact the "bullies" in ym past have become some of my good friends. Of course that's just my childhood, I'm sure high school bullying never ends as well as that)

We can't really stop bullying, I believe that teachers are going to turn the blind eye (Correct me if I'm wrong Anh) because in reality they can't tell if the person is lying or not (Think about it, who's to stop a person from reporting you for bullying as a form of bullying?), most of the time they got their hands behind their backs unless they see it.

It differs for every person really. Unfortunately many stories end badly.

[TinyRedLeaf]

What happened to my news?

May I kindly inform the past few posters to consider the following threads?

• Bullying - The Dark Side of Life Reflected in Anime?
• Bullying vs "Lone Wolf" Behaviour

Meanwhile,

No butts: China orders officials to smoke

Beijing (May 4): Officials in a county in central China have been told to smoke nearly a quarter million packs of locally made cigarettes annually or risk being fined, the state media reported.

The Gong'an county government in Hubei province has ordered its staff to puff their way through 230,000 packs of Hubei-produced cigarette brands a year, the Global Times said. Departments that fail to meet their targets will be fined, according to the report.

The measure could also be a ploy to aid local cigarette brands such as Huanghelou, which are under severe pressure from competitors in neighbouring Hunan province, according to the paper.

China has 350 million smokers, of whom a million die of smoking-related diseases every year.

- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

[Shadow Kira01]

S Korea navy saves N Korea ship

A South Korean naval patrol has saved a North Korean ship from attack by pirates in the sea off Somalia, military officials in Seoul have said.

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement on Monday the unnamed North Korean ship had sent a distress call that it was being chased by pirates.

Snipers were sent to the area on board a helicopter after a South Korean warship picked up the signal.

The pirates gave up the chase after the snipers fired warning shots, the statement said.

The statement said the North Korean ship had sent a message of thanks to the South Korean warship, but did not say when the incident took place.

"The pirates came close to the North Korean ship but retreated as our helicopter approached," a South Korean military spokesman told the AFP news agency.

It was the second time that the South Korean unit has reported driving off pirates since it deployed last month in the sea lanes off Somalia.

A South Korean helicopter drove pirates away from a Danish-registered ship on April 16, the military said.

Very interesting...

Its been less than 2 weeks since the two Koreas were in a unpleasant circumstance in which North Korea threatens for an apology while intimidating on the usage of missiles and nuclear bombs. And now without the issue being resolved, South Korea saves North Korea from dangerous Somali pirates, just like your typical fairytale of a hero saving a princess from bandits. Unfortunately, North Korea is no princess.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

What happened to my news?

That was what I was thinking too..

The thing is that most of the news I heard for the past week are about the swine flu pandemic and that has its own thread. The new flu has became very serious..

A possible pandemic at a rise(60 people dies of Swine flue in Mexico)

Its almost as if the swine flu pandemic has become so serious that replaced the North Korea issue. And honestly, I believe that the swine flu pandemic is actually more serious too.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Influenza A (H1N1) is old news and the rabble-rousing media is already moving on to other topics, such as:



Plague of super rats overruns Britain

London (May 3): There could be a huge rise in Britain's rat population as the rodents become resistant to poisons, pest controllers have warned.

The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) said it has found two towns in southern England where rats are showing resistance to the chemicals used to kill them. It says tests by the association in two unnamed towns — one in Berkshire and one in Hampshire —suggest rats are becoming resistant to the normal poisons being used.

BPCA chief executive Oliver Madge said: "We're putting down more and more of the two chemicals we can use outside and it's not working."

The association says rising rat numbers could pose a public health risk and it wants the Health and Safety Executive to allow two chemicals — brodifacoum and flocoumafen — to be used outdoors, saying Britain is the only country in Europe where they are not allowed, because the British authorities believe they could endanger birds, pets and other wildlife.

A survey for the National Pest Technicians Association found 378,000 local authority call-outs for rat problems in Britain between 2007 and last year, up 15 per cent from the previous year. Mild winters and wet summers have helped the rodent population thrive. In the worst-hit areas, such as the northern city of York, reported infestations have more than doubled in the past 12 months. Exeter, in south-western Britain, reported a 66 per cent rise in vermin call-outs last year, while there was a 40 per cent rise in Salford (located near Manchester).

There are concerns that some water companies have dispensed with putting rat poison in sewers, which may have also contributed to the rising infestation.

The BPCA said waste food and composting encouraged rats as they burrow underneath compost heaps to make nests. Mr Madge said chicken wire across the bottom of compost bins could help. He also warned that rats can transmit disease such as Leptospirosis, or Weil's disease, and chew through cables.

- BBC NEWS, GUARDIAN

For the life of me, I don't know why the above story reminded me immediately of The Secret of Nimh. Must be age — it's making me nostalgic.

[WanderingKnight]

SUPER RATS!

We're all gonna die! Aieeeeeeeeeee!

Can we panic already?

Newsflash: Rat traps sold out. Retailers short on rat poison. People flood the hospitals to check themselves for the bubonic plague.