Monday, October 09, 2006

The North Korean Threat

Unlike my last blog post here, the following has some definite relevance. This was written for an English Composition class. The requirements were for the text to be in blog format- informal by nature. As the following subject was particularly interesting (and scary) for me, I feel that I put more emotion into this post. I also feel that I could have been much more thorough and thought provoking if given less length constraints.


As a student who had previously been in the military and had deployed worldwide (including to the Korean peninsula), I watch with a keen eye the on going of world affairs. More then just my military training, I have always had an intense fascination with government, politics and international relations and, as such, am now an International Studies Major, taking Arabic.


Last night, I stayed up later then usual, completely fascinated- and a bit dumbfounded- by the news that North Korea had detonated a nuclear weapon. While the weapon was many times smaller then what the North Korean government had originally wanted to test, the event stands as a cataclysmic event. I don’t think enough people realize the ramifications of this action.


Our parents grew up during the pinnacle of the Cold War and the worldwide arms race. This was a scary time for many. And, while I am far from a doomsday prophesier myself, I have to admit that actions like those conducted by North Korea only work to regress the world back into that stage. I am sure that your parents can tell you of bomb alerts that were conducted at school when they were growing up, much like the fire drills that we conduct now. I hate to think that we may be slowly inching our way back into a world that requires such precautions again.


I could talk about this topic all day as it really interests me. However, I just wanted to put this out there and hope everyone is, at least, aware of what is going on in their world. What happens today 20,000 miles from Tampa, Florida may have a profound impact on your world here tomorrow.


The following is a link on cnn.com concerning President Bush’s response to North Korea’s nuclear weapon test.

Local Reviews

The following is rather non-consequential in its subject matter. However, as an assignment, we are required to review something- a business, a meal, music, etc. I thought that I would include this post, despite its relative lack of importance, as an example of my casual but (I think) effective writing technique.



I had a quiet, relatively different night, with a couple of friends that has encouraged me to review two businesses that I enjoyed last night. The first was Vallarta’s, a Mexican restaurant in Temple Terrace (south of the campus) and the other was 4U, an Arabic Hookah bar in the same area.


Vallarta’s was terrific. I had to conduct personal interviews with a couple of friends for my fraternity and one of them suggested this restaurant. The price of food was surprisingly low. They offered about 25 different combination meals that all sold for $7.50. While the portions weren’t endless, this relatively cheap meal filled me. More surprisingly, these same meals sold for around $4.50 at lunch when, I am told, the restaurant becomes very busy. It was the taste, though, that made Vallarta’s a winner. I had a stuffed chili and a taco. I was impressed that the cooks decided not to deny the taste of the beef with Mexican seasoning like many other restaurants do. Instead, the meat stood on its own and was complimented by the taste of the vegetables, cheese and guacamole.


Afterwards, we visited 4U, which is an authentic Arabic Hookah lounge. I only occasionally smoke from the Hookah so I can’t say that this particular taste was better then others. But I can attest that the environment was quite impressive. Our server, Alex, was the epitome of gracious and wanted nothing else but for us to enjoy ourselves. He waited on us “hand and foot.” Unlike some Hookah bars, this one was lit well and encouraged discussion, which was great for my friends and me since we had to complete and record in writing our personal interviews.


I recommend both places as they are economically feasible yet not compromising on quality. If you need more detailed directions to find these places, get with me in class and I will be happy to hook you up.