JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE TO BE THE FIRST FOREIGN HEAD TO MEET THE POTUS TRUMP AFTER WINNING THE ELECTION

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he wants to build a relationship of trust when he meets U.S. President-elect Donald Trump this week, stressing that the two-way alliance is the core of Tokyo’s diplomacy and security.

Abe, set to meet Trump later on Thursday in New York, is expected to be the first foreign leader to do so since the U.S. real estate magnate’s election on Nov. 8.
The U.S.-Japan alliance “is the cornerstone of Japan’s diplomacy and security. Only when there is trust does an alliance come alive,” Abe told reporters before leaving Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reported.

Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said on Thursday the meeting would likely be “much more informal,” given that Trump does not take over the White House from Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama until Jan. 20.
“Any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration,” she said, speaking on the CBS “This Morning” television program.
Details about the meeting remained unclear, with Trump’s transition team not responding to requests for comment. The meeting is expected later Thursday after Abe arrives in the United States.

 http://www.france24.com/en/20161117-japan-shinzo-abe-first-foreign-leader-meet-trump-after-election

THE LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH FROM THAILAND DIES AFTER 88 YEARS ON THE THRONE THAI KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ TO BE SUCCEEDED BY HIS SON CROWN PRINCE MAHA VAJIRALONGKORN

Thailand is making preparations for Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to ascend the throne on Dec 1, two senior military sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Oct 13 at the age of 88 has plunged the Southeast Asian nation of 67 million people into a year of mourning.
News of the December timeframe follows the prince's departure for Germany at the weekend where he had personal business to attend to, one senior military source told Reuters, adding that the prince would return in November.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thailand-making-preparations-for-dec-1-succession

THE OUTSPOKEN PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT DUTERTE ANTI USA STANCE COMES FROM THE DAYS WHEN MAYOR OF THE DRUG INFESTED CITY OF DAVAO

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has drawn attention for his bloody anti-drug campaigns and foul-mouthed remarks about the United States. But what drives his actions?

"You can go to hell. Mr. Obama, you can go to hell," he told reporters at one news conference.
"Some industrialized nations such as the US and members of the EU, are criticizing my crackdown on drugs. It's silly," he has also said.
Davao is the city where he served as mayor for about 2 decades. Bonifacio Tan, president of the city's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the local economy was at rock bottom before Duterte became mayor. Abductions of wealthy people were rampant, and making money was risky because it would often draw the attention of kidnappers.
"Sometimes killing, so no expansion, they were afraid," Tan says.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/nhknewsline/backstories/whatdrivesduterte/

THE SOUTH EAST ASIA INSTABILITY GROWS TO BE THE NEXT BATTLE GROUND FOR THE MARINES TO OVERCOME ONCE AGAIN AS LEADERS JOSTLE ITS LONG TIME ALLEGIANCE FROM THE PHILLIPPINES TO THAILAND TO NORTH KOREA HATE FOR THE USA AS COMMUNIST CHINA STIRS THE POT OF TURMOIL

With uncertain new leadership in allied countries and the sabre-rattling of hostile states growing louder, Marines in the Pacific are being prepared for a coming conflict, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Division said this week.
Speaking at Marine Corps Association's Ground Dinner near Washington, D.C., Thursday night, Maj. Gen. Richard Simcock made a plea for more amphibious ships in the region and increased collaboration with the Navy as the region braces anticipates a future that may include a confrontation or contingency involving a powerful regional competitor.
"The fight that's coming, we're not going to be able to get a hodgepodge, hillbilly organization and just throw three [Marine Expeditionary Units] together and say that's a [Marine Expeditionary Brigade] and we can land the landing force," he said. "We're not training with our Navy brethren; we're not doing the things that are going to carry us to victory in the fight that is clearly coming out of the Pacific. Those are the biggest issues that I deal with right now."
Recent upheavals in the region, he said, included the death in October of the 88-year-old king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, a beloved ruler who leaves an uncertain political future in his son, the crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. Meanwhile, the newly elected Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June, has repeatedly made headlines with his hostility toward the U.S. and insults and rebukes to President Barack Obama.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/11/18/general-pacific-grows-unstable-fight-coming.html

CHINA'S LONE AIRCRAFT CARRIER THE LIAONING IS NOT ALONE IN THE WORLD - AS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED FROM THE USA, BRAZIL, CHINA, FRANCE, INDIA, ITALY, RUSSIA, SPAIN, THE UK, JAPAN AND THAILAND

Almost two decades after buying the hull from Ukraine in 1998, China's sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has finally been declared combat ready.
China's aircraft carrier, as well as the rest of its rapidly modernizing navy, puts Beijing in an elite club with the greatest naval powers in the world. The development has raised eyebrows in the Pacific and globally, as China ignores international law, builds and militarizes artificial islands in the South China Sea, and threatens and bullies its neighbors.
In the slides below, see how China's Liaoning stacks up to other carriers worldwide:

 

http://www.scout.com/military/warrior/story/1729166-china-s-aircraft-carrier-combat-ready

WHO HAS THE MOST NUCLEAR ARMS STOCKPILE IN THE WORLD - USA 1797, FOLLOWED BY RUSSIA 1582, THEN FRANCE 290, AND CHINA 250, THE UK 120, PAKISTAN 120, NOT FAR BEHIND INDIA 110, WITH ISRAEL 110, AND NORTH KOREA THE KIM 8

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20161117000570

WITH THE SHRINKING POPULATION WORK FORCE IN THE EU DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND WITH ITS ABORTIVE MENTALITY IS NOW CHANGING ITS TUNE TO HERALD CONCIEVE BY ALL MEANS POSSIBLE AS LOW BIRTH RATE FROM ITALY BRINGS OUT INCENTIVE FOR SEX IN OUR HOTELS WILL GARNER A FREE ACCOMMODATION AFTER PREGNANCY - THE DEAD LEFTISTS ARE TURNING IN THEIR GRAVES SINCE NO LIVE BABY LEFT BEHIND

A GROUP of Italian hotels is offering free accommodation to couples who conceive during their stay, in a bid to boost the country’s low birthrate.

Ten hotels in the central region of Umbria have signed up for the initiative. According to The Local, some will offer reimbursements to guests who can prove they got pregnant during their stay, while others will offer a free second visit.
Couples don’t have to be married to participate, which is causing some controversy in the conservative region, which is the birthplace of St Francis of Assisi.

“Giving birth to a child is an act of deep love, which should be encouraged despite the multitude of difficulties in life,” organisers said, according to The Local.
However, local councillor and former mayor Claudio Ricci questioned whether the campaign was “fitting for the public image of Assist and the promotion of the region”.
Italy has the lowest birthrate in the European Union, registering the lowest number of births in more than 150 years in 2015, with only eight babies born for every 1000 people. The average child-bearing age has also risen to more than 31.


 http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/weird-and-wacky/italian-hotels-offer-free-accommodation-to-couples-who-conceive-during-their-stay/news-story/81e523b79e0756b5e742cd9c2479feba

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GOVERNED BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE BY ELECTED MEANS HAVE NOW BEEN CIRCUMVENTED BY UNELECTED JUDGES WHO BY RIGHTS OF PERSONAL LEFT LEANINGS HAVE RULED AGAINST LAWS PASSED BY LEGISLATURE BODIES AS DEEMED BY HERE THE CONSTITUTION OF THESE UNITED STATES - EXAMPLE JUDGES TURNING AND OVERTURNING LAWS VOTED AND PASSED TO BE THE BILL CAUSING THE VERY CHAOS THE LEFT STANDS FOR - OLIGARCHY ANYONE

Nov. 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address where 50,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in a three-day battle:

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

President Theodore Roosevelt stated in 1903: “In no other place and at no other time has the experiment of government of the people, by the people, for the people, been tried on so vast a scale as here in our own country.”...........


...........

Exercise in futility
Immense effort goes into the legislative process – political campaigns, registering voters, getting to polls, voting, swearing in, introducing bills, debating bills, voting on bills, overriding vetoes – yet this is all an exercise in futility if only a few unelected judges can invalidate the entire process.
For example:

• The people of Arizona voted English as their official language, but federal judges overruled. (9th Circuit, Prop. 106, March 3, 1997)
• The people of Arkansas passed term limits for politicians, but federal judges overruled. (Sup. Ct., Term Limits v Thornton, May 22, 1995)
• The people of California voted to stop state-funded taxpayer services to illegal aliens, but federal judges overruled. (Prop. 187, Nov. 20, 1995)
• The people of Colorado voted not to give special rights to homosexuals, but federal judges overruled. (Sup. Ct. Romer v Evans, 1992)
• The people of Missouri defeated a tax increase, but federal judges overruled. (8th Circuit, Missouri v Jenkins, Apr. 18, 1990)
• The people of Missouri limited contributions to State candidates, but a federal judge overruled. (8th Circuit, Shrink Pac v Nixon, Jan. 24, 2000)
• The people of Missouri passed “A Woman’s Right to Know.” Governor Bob Holden vetoed it. Legislators overrode his veto, but a federal judge overruled. (U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright, Sept. 11, 2000)
• The people of Nebraska passed a Marriage Amendment with 70 percent of the vote, but a federal judge overruled. (U.S. District Judge Joseph Batallion, May 12, 2005)
• The people of New York voted against physician-assisted suicide, but federal judges overruled. (2nd Circuit, April 2, 1996)
• The people of Washington voted against physician-assisted suicide, but federal judges overruled. (9th Circuit, March 6, 1996)
• The people of Washington passed term limits for politicians, but federal judges overruled. (Sup. Ct., Term Limits v Thornton, May 22, 1995)
• The people of Montana voted by an overwhelming 74 percent to define a marriage as between one man and one woman, but federal judge Brian Morris overruled. (Nov. 19, 2014) Republican Rep. Steve Daines stated an “unelected federal judge” had ignored Montanans’ wishes. (Associated Press, Nov. 19, 2014)

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/11/the-very-best-way-to-usurp-power-from-the-states/

A 14 YEAR OLD GIRL CANCER PATIENT WISHES TO BE CRYOGENICALLY FROZEN AFTER DEATH IN THE HOPES THAT IN 100 YEARS A CURE WILL BE FOUND FOR HER TO BE REVIVED GETS HER MAKE A WISH FULFILLED FROM THE HIGH COURT JUDGE IN LONDON AFTER PASSING AWAY

A 14-year-old girl who died of cancer has been cryogenically frozen in the hope that she can be “woken up” and cured in the future after winning a landmark court case in her final days.

The girl’s divorced parents had disagreed over whether her wish to be frozen should be followed, so the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, asked a High Court judge to intervene.

In a heartbreaking letter to the court, she said: “I don’t want to die but I know I am going to...I want to live longer...I want to have this chance.”


 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/18/cancer-girl-14-is-cryogenically-frozen-after-telling-judge-she-w/

THE DEMOCRATS LIKES TO BACK A LOSER AS THE DEMS LEADERSHIP OF NANCY PELOSI AND HARRY REID KEEPS BLEEDING DRY THE DEMOCRAT FAME AND FORTUNE TO ITS RIGHTFUL DEMISE AS 8 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP HAS DRIVEN THE DEMOCRAT PARTY OUT OF THE POTUS, THE SENATE, AND CONGRESS IN 2016

Representative Tim Ryan, a little-known Democrat from Ohio, said Thursday he’ll challenge Nancy Pelosi to lead a party that’s reeling from a disappointing Election Day.
Ryan’s announcement that he’ll run against Pelosi pits him against the only woman to ever serve as House Speaker and comes after more than a half-dozen better-known colleagues in recent years shied away from the challenge. He declared his candidacy hours after she told reporters that she’d had support from more than two-thirds of the House’s roughly 200 Democratic members.
Ryan, 43, was undeterred, saying that the Democratic Party’s disappointing performance in last week’s election demanded new leadership.
“Over the last 18 years, Democrats have only been in the majority of the House of Representatives for two terms, and last week’s election results set us back even further," said Ryan, of Youngstown. “We have lost over 60 seats since 2010. We have the fewest Democrats in state and federal offices since Reconstruction. At this time of fear and disillusionment, we owe it to our constituencies to listen and bring a new voice into leadership.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-17/pelosi-to-face-little-known-challenger-as-democrats-rue-election

THAAD FINALLY FINDS ITS HOME IN S KOREA TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE SOVERIEGNITY OF ITS DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT FROM THE SOCIALIST COMMUNIST FORM OF GOVERNMENT N KOREA WHO WILL DO THE FIRST STRIKE WITHOUT WARNING AS EVERY COMMUNIST IN THE PAST HAVE DONE - AS LOTTE GROUP HANDS THE KEYS OF ITS MOUNTAIN RESORT GOLF COURSE TO THAAD

Lotte Group on Wednesday agreed to hand over a golf course in southwestern Korea so a U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery can be stationed there.
The Defense Ministry offered a land swap whereby Lotte hands over the Lotte Skyhill Country Club in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which was picked in late September as the site for the THAAD battery, in exchange for a military site in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.
If things go on as scheduled, the THAAD battery will be stationed in Seongju between July and September next year.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/11/17/2016111701515.html

HOLLYWOOD NO LONGER HAS A LOCK ON BLOCK BUSTER FILMS AS CJ ENTERTAINMENT THE CREATOR OF THE MOVIE "MASTERS" GETS SOLD TO 31 COUNTRIES EVEN BEFORE ITS RELEASE

The South Korean crime action film "Master" starring top actors Lee Byung-hun, Kang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin has been sold to 31 countries before its release, according to its local distributor Friday.

The movie's distribution rights have been sold to companies in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries, CJ Entertainment said.
The action flick had reportedly garnered huge interest when it was showcased at the American Film Market (AFM) held in Santa Monica from Nov. 2-9.
The film's foreign release will kick off in the U.S. in December. Then it will hit Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore in that order starting the following month.

 http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2016/11/18/7/0701000000AEN20161118003900315F.html

THE RING OF FIRE THAT CONSISTS 75% OF VOLCANOS IN THE WORLD COMES TO LIFE IN 2016 AS QUAKES AS HIGH AS 8.0 SHAKES CHILI, PERU, PANAMA, CALIFORNIA, ALASKA, JAPAN, KOREA AND NOW NEW ZEALAND

We just had a tsunami-triggering 8.2 earthquake off of Chile’s north coast, a 5.8 earthquake off the coast of Panama, a 5.1 earthquake in southern California, and a dormant volcano in Peru has awakened for the first time in 40 years, but scientists assure us that none of these events are related and that we don’t have anything to be concerned about.

Image: Ring of Fire (Wiki Commons).

Even though all of these events took place on the Ring of Fire, which is the most seismically-active area of the entire planet, the “experts” promise us that “the odds are overwhelming” that they are not related to one another.  So do you believe them?  A few days ago, I wrote an article entitled “12 Signs That Something Big Is Happening To The Earth’s Crust Under North And South America“.  This was before the earthquakes that struck off the coasts of Chile and Panama.  It appeared to me, as a “non-expert”, that seismic activity was really starting to heat up in North and South America – especially along the Ring of Fire.  But it turns out that I and everyone else that was concerned about all of these earthquakes was flat wrong.  According to the experts, it is just a giant coincidence that earthquakes are popping off like firecrackers all along the west coasts of North and South America.

http://www.infowars.com/scientists-assure-us-that-the-recent-earthquakes-on-the-ring-of-fire-are-not-related/

DRIVERLESS BUSES TEST DEPLOYED IN JAPAN IN SENBOKU CITY, AKITA - AS TRAVELERS TAKE TURN EXPERIENCING THE TRIAL RUN - THE PLAN IS TO PROVIDE AN INCREASE TRANSPORTATION OPTION FOR ITS POPULOUS AND THE ELDERLY

A driverless bus has been tested on a public road for the first time in Japan.

An IT company was contracted to carry out the trial run in Senboku City, Akita Prefecture.

The city is designated as a special zone for promoting deregulation and economic revitalization.

An electric bus from France was used for Sunday's experiment. It has no driver's seat or steering wheel, and uses GPS to travel along a fixed route.

The bus automatically stops when it detects a human being or an obstacle.

Thirty-six people took turns to ride on the bus, which traveled back and forth 3 times along a 400-meter stretch of road near Lake Tazawa.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20161113_16/

RUSSIA'S ONLY AIRCRAFT CARRIER ADMIRAL KUSNETSOV AND A NUCLEAR MISSILE CRUISER A TOTAL OF 8 FLOTILLA SHIPS IN ATTACK FORMATION IN SYRIA TO DEMONSTRATE THE PUTIN WILL TO BE A SUPER POWER IN THE MIDDLE EAST

A flotilla of Russian warships arrived off the coast of Syria on Saturday, readying for a large-scale land and sea assault on the city of Aleppo.
The eight-strong battle group, led by Moscow’s only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and accompanied by a nuclear-powered missile cruiser, had provocatively travelled through the English Channel to reach the eastern Mediterranean.
Sergei Artamonov, commander of the Kuznetsov, confirmed to Russia-1 television station via videolink on Saturday that aircraft were already taking off from the ship's deck for reconnaissance flights.

"Flights are being carried out from the deck... they are working on coordination with the shore port," he said.
Asked whether foreign aircraft were flying over the ships, Vladislav Malakhovsky, commander of the Peter the Great missile cruiser, said: "they are afraid to come closer than 50 kilometres away, realising very well how powerful the nuclear cruiser is."
The warships will be deployed to the Mediterranean for at least six months, the pro-government Syrian website al-Masdar News reported, quoting a military source.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/12/russian-warships-arrive-off-syrian-coast-ahead-of-final-assault/

THE AGREEMENT ON SPACE COOPERATION WENT INTO EFFECT THIS WEEK THURSDAY AS THE US AND S KOREA AGREE TO EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PEACEFUL SCIENCE, EARTH AND SPACE OBSERVATION THAT COVERS AS WELL THE PRIVATE SECTOR

An agreement reached between South Korea and the United States earlier this year to deepen space cooperation has taken effect, paving the way for closer ties between the allies in the exploration of the cosmos, the foreign ministry said Friday.
In April, Seoul and Washington signed the "Framework Agreement for Cooperation in Aeronautics and the Exploration and Use of Airspace and Outer Space for Civil and Peaceful Purposes."

   South Korea became the first Asian country to sign such a deal with the U.S., known as a leader in space exploration.
The agreement went into effect on Thursday and it is expected to accelerate and deepen cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said.
The agreement covers private sector cooperation for peaceful purposes ranging from space science, earth and outer space observation. It also covers the transfer of technology, data and relevant intellectual property rights.
Since the agreement was reached, the allies have been beefing up efforts to strengthen their tie-ups in space.
In April, they held their second space cooperation committee meeting. In a related move, scientists and researchers from the two countries also formed a working group in May to discuss detailed action plans, the ministry said.

 http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2016/11/04/0504000000AEN20161104008500315.html

THE EXCUSE IN LOUISIANA FROM A FEMALE TEACHER THAT ITS OK TO BE A SEX PREDATOR TO BOYS WHEN 17 -SINCE ITS LEGAL TO HAVE A SEXUAL RELATIONS WHEN 17 AND ABOVE IN LA - WILL NOT FLY AS HS PE NICOLE AYMOND IS CHARGED WITH HAVING SEX WITH TWO BOYS FROM THE SAME PORT BARRE HIGH SCHOOL EMPLOYED - AS PUBLIC EDUCATORS CONTINUE THE PREDATOR ATTACKS ON THEIR STUDENTS

A MARRIED PE teacher has been arrested and faces charges of having sexual intercourse with

male students.
Port Barre Police Department Chief Deon Boudreaux said 45-year-old Nicole Aymond was arrested today on three counts of prohibited sexual conduct.
Police launched an investigation last week after receiving a call from a concerned parent at Port Barre High School, Louisiana, where Aymond is also the girls’ basketball coach.
Boudreaux told KLFY that for several years his department had received reports of teachers having sex with students from the school, but this was the first time someone provided any evidence.
He said that after speaking to two male students, officers found nude photos of Aymond on their phones.
After Aymond was arrested, she admitted top officers that she sex with two pupils when police showed that they had the nude photographs.
“She told them she had sexual relationship with two of the young men and a third young man not a sexual relationship, she did kiss on him and things like that,’ Boudreaux told KADN.

 http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/pe-teacher-has-sex-with-students/news-story/fa882b179fe1b72123392bb9438fcd63

WHEN DISCO WAS KING IN THE 1980 - THE WORLD FOLLOWED SUIT AND CREATED A WORLD DANCE OFF IN LONDON THE FIRST PLACE WINNER GODFREY RASEROKA WAS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND SECOND WAS FROM SINGAPORE - AS THE NOW 54 YEAR OLD 2ND PLACE WINNER RAYMOND CHONG RECALLS

Kept away in Mr Raymond Chong’s bedroom in his two-storey apartment is an outfit so precious, he keeps it in a vacuum-sealed bag.
It is a blue jumpsuit with a plunging neckline and adorned with sequins.
While the 54-year-old remisier probably wouldn’t be caught dead wearing this flamboyant outfit in public now, it holds a special memory for him — it was what he wore when he was crowned Singapore’s disco king over 30 years ago.

In 1980, when he was 18, Mr Chong beat more than 30 other dancers from all over the world to clinch second place in the EMI World Disco Dancing Championship.
“My friend who owned a boutique gave me the costume as a gift and told me I would look good dancing in it,” says Mr Chong, who is married with four children.

“I’m quite surprised that after all these years, it still fits!”
Recently, a video of Mr Chong’s fancy footwork made its rounds online. New York fashion magazine Hint shared a video of the 1980 competition on Nov 4. It now has more than six million views.

 http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/meet-singapores-disco-king-who-finished-2nd-in-1980-world-dance-contest

S KOREA'S ANTI CORRUPTION STANCE TAKES GREATER FORM AS THE PROTEST AGAINST THE REIGNING KOREAN PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE HEATS UP AGAINST HER - UP TO 1 MILLION PEOPLE PROTESTING FOR HER TO RESIGN FROM OFFICE AFTER BEING TIED TO THE UNELECTED FRIEND CHOI SOON-SIL INVOLVMENT IN GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKING WHEELING AND DEALING FOR CHOI'S BENEFIT IT WOULD SEEM -

Up to 1 million South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday, demanding President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over a scandal involving her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.

In the largest anti-government rally in decades, protestors flooded the streets running through City Hall, Gwangwhamun Square and Anguk Station, turning the area into a vast sea of candlelight in the evening. Streets just hundreds of meters from Park’s presidential residence of Cheong Wa Dae were also packed, with participants chanting “Park Geun-hye resign!”

 Organizers said over 1 million gathered for the protest, but the police’s estimate was 260,000.

At Cheong Wa Dae, lights were seen turned on deep into the night.

The embattled president watched Saturday’s colossal protest from her residence, while her staff, in a somber mood, discussed how to cope with the situation, sources at the presidential office said.

Many had expected Saturday’s rally to be a watershed moment for Park’s presidency in a crisis sparked by allegations that she let civilian friend, Choi, manipulate power from behind the scenes. Park’s approval ratings have sunken to an abysmal 5 percent, with a majority of people demanding her immediate removal from office.

While Cheong Wa Dae kept silent Sunday, political parties on both sides of the aisle were seen clearly affected by the overwhelming demonstration of public anger.

 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20161113000197