THIS AND THAT

• Folks in Gangjeong village on Jeju Island have lately been using logs and rocks and other stuff to help block the Navy base construction gate.  The idea is to slow down the process which over a period of time adds up to quite a bit in cost overruns.  Currently the debate is escalating in South Korea about next year's Navy base construction budget.  National elections there will happen on December 19.
• I finished this morning sending out the newsletter to our international list and sending the bulk copy orders to folks around the US.  They will help distribute the papers in their local communities.  
• I've not been feeling well this week - first fighting a bad lingering cold and then getting dizzy and having assorted pains that were enough to send me to the doctor.  They ran some tests and found nothing to speak of.  Good news there......
• The weather here is very weird.  It snowed again a couple days ago and since then has warmed up considerably.  So we go from a coat to a light jacket and no wonder my body can't adjust and starts acting strange.  Everywhere I go people comment about how much they enjoy the warmer temperatures....of course I say I am worried about climate change.  They usually mumble something back and move the discussion on to another topic. 
• My son has arrived in Taiwan where he will be teaching debate.  He is quite excited about living in a different country for awhile.  
• As if we haven't had enough presidential politics, the mainstream media is already promoting their favorites for the 2016 elections.  Dems - Hillary Clinton and Repubs - Chris Christie.  Nothing to get excited about. 
•  Obama has taken the formal step of notifying Congress that he has deployed troops “equipped for combat” to Libya and Yemen to "defend" U.S. citizens and property, pursuant to the War Powers Resolution.  Expect to see the Pentagon's Africa Command (AfriCom) very active during the next four years.
• The Senate (on Tuesday) unanimously passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $631 billion military spending bill, with 98 votes in favor. The unanimity of the vote, according to analysts, was because of a “lack of controversial issues.”  Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said that the bill, which can tackle everything from military social policy to funding wars, had passed unanimously for only the second time in 51 years.  Anticipating your question - yes Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont (Socialist) voted in favor of the endless war department budget.