on cars and motorbikes

On cars:

The Volvo C30S SSRI Coupe of 2009

I bought this over a year ago, trading in the 2009 Mazda B50 2WD Ute - which was a fantastic vehicle in excellent condition. I bought the Mazda Ute almost new as an experiment to see how it went over 2 years when used not as a ute at all but as a two seater car, basically. It is the only car I've ever had that basically appreciated in value in the 2 years I had it. Why? Because I had used it simply as a car. Very strong, lots of added on things like side steps and dark glass and bullbar and great spotlights etc.

 

It was great except I found it very difficult to park because of the one tonne tray sticking out beyond the cabin-line and there were quite a number of occasions when I reversed it into steel poles...doing no damage at all to the ute, mind you. Finally, after I reversed it into the side door of a new Mitsubishi Pajero at low speed and basically tore off the door of the Pajero, still with no damage to the Ute, I began thinking about trading the Ute in. Just poor vision reversing, and me with a sore neck.

It was comfortable. The bumpiness of the rear leaf-springs were well balanced simply by having a 20 kg bag of sand in the centre back of the tray. Thus: car-like suspension. Good diesel engine. Cheap to run, and problem free.

Anyway, the Volvo is a good coupe. Low and fast and safe. The only car I've owned where you don't have to slow down when going around corners or changing directions radically...It just does what you want. No complaints, no back-end drifting etc. The other day was a good example, I did an illegal U-turn at some lights and failed to see a fast approaching very large Toyota Sahara 4WD so I was in a bit of a pickle...so...planted foot to the floor on the accelerator...and the Volvo just ignored all its inbuilt safety-gear tuned to the particular driver's habits, and it just threw itself forward out of the way in a great pool of seething rubber and smoke. Brilliant. Fortunate.

I bought it second hand 3 year old at about the same price as a new basic Toyota Corolla (the famous and indestructible Bangkok Taxi) so, its value depreciation was about 20% per year, and continues to devalue each year faster than a Corolla would, although this is only a concern if one wants to sell it. I like it and it reminds me of Simon Templar's Volvo in The Saint, and so its resale value means nothing as I wish to keep it. Volvo engines are great - especially the C30S 5 cylinder donk...massive power in a very heavy body...and will do an easy 600,000km without effort or much that needs fixing. Fuel costs are twice that of a Corolla.

If I had to make a dispassionate objective analysis and asked myself Is the Volvo, when new, worth the money...maybe $50,000...then NO, not at all. A Daihatsu Terios or Sirion, a Hyundai Getz, or even the Toyota Corolla is a much smarter way to get around and you could buy 4 Hyundai Getz for the price of the Volvo. The Getz will last as long and maybe even be a bit more reliable...but I just like the glass boot, the 'shooting brake' configuration of the Volvo that hearkens back to the 1969 PT model of Roger Moore/ that's all. I like it. And Volvo does have the most comfortable car seats in the world.

Cars I would like to have in the future, whilst keeping the Volvo: a fifteen year old Mercedes S500 Long Wheel Base. You can pick them up for around $15,000 now, with 130,000km on the clock, which is a drop from $150,000 when new...and they are great loungerooms to drive around in. They came in V6, V8 and V12...and I would kinda like the V12. I'd also like a low km 2012 Hyundai Getz 2 door 1.4l car and do it up a treat as they are very brilliant machines. Zonking down from Rockhampton to Brisbane in the Getz, or from Rockhampton to Cairns were comfortable, fast and excellently affordable experiences.

So, favourite owned cars, in order of excellence, for me, would be:

1: Hyundai Getz

2: Volvo C30S SSRI Coupe + Holden Kingswood Station Wagon in green

3: Daihatsu Terios    +    3: Mazda B50 2WD Ute

Motorbikes:

Favoured:

BMW R1100R Randy Mammola Replica 2002 in police colours of Blue and White

Moto Guzzi Tenni Le Mans 2000 in green, brown, white and red (quite an Italian pastiche)

Ducati ST4S in yellow, with design elements from Benetton and Marchesini fine mechanicals

KIM YO JONG

North Korea: Dictator's Sister Kim Yo-jong Confirmed in Top Party Job

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  By Umberto Bacchi
  November 27, 2014 08:03 GMT
• 1 2   

1 of 2

Kim Yo-jong (circled), the younger sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, trails her brother(North Korean Central TV)

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The younger sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has officially taken up a prominent role in the regime's administration, after speculation she had stepped in for her brother when he mysteriously disappeared for six weeks, earlier this year.

Kim Yo-jong, believed to be 27, was referred to as deputy director for Northern department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, according to KCNA, the official news agency of the secretive nation.

Analysts said that her ascent in the party ranks signalled the increasing grip on power of Kim's close family.

In October, as her brother disappeared from public eye sparking wiled speculations on his whereabouts and health conditions, reports surfaced suggesting she had taken up crucial government powers becoming the de facto second-in-command in the hermit kingdom.

A shadowy figure, Kim Yo-jong is rarely featured in North Korean media, where her dictator brother is a dominant presence instead.

The world first took notice of her as she was he was seen in tears at Kim Jong-il's funeral in 2011. She has since sporadically appeared in public alongside Kim Jong-un over the past few years.

In March official media first suggested she had been entrusted with official roles by Pyongyang, when she was photographed trailing the Supreme Leader and party officials on their way to a polling satiation in Pyongyang.

NK leader's sister weds son of Choe Ryong-hae (Yonhap News) The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was married last year to a son of Choe Ryong-hae, one of the closest aides to Kim, sources said Friday.

North Korea: Kim Jong-un's sister marries son of close aide Choe Ryong-hae

• By Jerome Anthony
  January 2, 2015 09:19 GMT
•  3   

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is pictured casting her vote in parliamentary elections in March 2014North Korean TV News

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Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, married last year a son of one of the closest aides to the leader.

YonhapNews quoted a reliable source based in China as saying: "As far as I know, Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Workers' Party, got married to a son of the party's secretary Choe Ryong-hae."

Choe is one of the most powerful officials in the communist nation after Kim Jong-un.

The party secretary has two sons and a daughter, another source said. "The second son, Choe Song, is her husband," added the source, as quoted by the South Korean news agency.

He is reportedly in his early 30s and his job title is not confirmed as of now.

North Korean media on Friday released a photo of the 28-year-old accompanying the leader in a visit to a Pyongyang orphanage on New Year's Day.

In the picture it was clear that she was wearing a wedding ring.

choon woo hee

Chun Woo-hee Named Most Promising Actress

Chun Woo-hee

Actress Chun Woo-hee has been chosen as the most promising discovery of 2014 by film critics and industry watchers. Chun was the biggest surprise at the annual Blue Dragon Film Awards by winning the best actress award despite being a relative newcomer. 

Many critics, however, agreed that she deserved the award, as she had built her career slowly and gradually and has strong potential to grow further.

Chun won the award for her superb performance in indie film "Han Gong-ju" that only attracted some 220,000 viewers. Although that is respectable for an indie film, it is hardly a match for the big blockbusters of the year. 

But Chun's portrayal of the troubled rape victim in the film was so impressive that it won everyone over.

In her acceptance speech, a tearful Chun said, "I think this award sends me a message never to give up. I will do my best to keep on acting with confidence, I hope this will help spark more interest in indie and small-budget films." 

Film critic Shim Young-seop said, "It's great to see a new actress who is capable of carrying a film on her own."

Korean films starring a single actress have struggled to achieve commercial success recently, which makes Chun's triumph all the more significant. 

Doubts regarding North Korea's involvement in Sony hack continue to grow

Firm briefs FBI on Sony hack, doubts NK involvement

Cyber intelligence company sees involvement from Sony employee in incident

December 30th, 2014

Rob York

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The FBI have been briefed by U.S. security experts who have pointed to a source other than North Korea for the recent Sony hacking.

The cyber intelligence firm Norse have pointed to hackers working with a Sony employee. The company briefed the FBI Monday afternoon, a senior vice president at Norse told Politico on Monday.

The cyber intelligence community was taken aback by the how quickly the FBI had fingered the North as he culprits for the attack, said senior vice president of market development Kurt Stammberger, “because it’s really hard to pin this on anyone within days of the attack.”

The FBI said it welcomes contributions from the private sector on the ongoing investigation, but said it stands by its original conclusion.

“Attribution to North Korea is based on intelligence from the FBI, the U.S. intelligence community, DHS, foreign partners and the private sector,” a statement from the bureau said.

Challenges to the FBI’s conclusions have emerged on several fronts, with Taia Global Linguists’ analysisof the 20 messages purportedly sent by the hackers concluding that their native language is most likely Russian, and “not likely” Korean.

Security expert Bruce Schneier has also called the FBI’s evidence that the North carried out the attack “tenuous at best.”

North Korea Unlikely to have hacked Sony

SEOUL, South Korea — The release of “The Interview” last week was supposed to spark a geopolitical imbroglio just in time for the holidays. Instead — after a last-minute release of the hastily canceled film to select theaters and crowds on the web — this Christmas turned out like any other, and we were allowed to watch Kim Jong Un’s head explode in peace.

There was no political escalation — no additional leaks or cyberattacks — from the group of mysterious hackers thought to sympathize with North Korea. Even the rogue state’s customary bluster was absent. There were no trademark missile or nuclear tests, and no naval attack or skirmish in the Yellow Sea intended to blackmail the regime’s enemies.

All was quiet, it seemed, on the northern front.

State media instead pulled out its usual bag of insults. On Saturday, it compared US President Barack Obama to a “monkey in a tropical forest,” and said that he “took the lead in appeasing and blackmailing cinema houses and theaters in the US mainland to distribute the movie.”

But why all the talk with no big punches thrown? After all, the Obama administration declared North Korea responsible for the embarassing cyberattack on Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film. Sony quickly shelved the movie after anonymous threats of 9/11-style attacks on US theaters showing it. Then the studio reversed its decision after pressure from the president, allowing audiences access, albeit limited, to the provocative buddy comedy. So shouldn’t we have witnessed a fiercer, more threatening pushback from Pyongyang upon the release of “The Interview”?

Perhaps not. A growing body of skeptics think that North Korea actually wasn’t the culprit behind the Sony hack, or at least that it’s too early to make a call.

Thailand Military Government to Continue at least 'til 2016

Noting the announcement that the military will continue to rule Thailand for a year more than first planned.
Noting changes in the Royal Family in regards to the status of the Crown Prince's wife's family.
It suggests a consolidation of authority by the Army to ensure a peaceful state should the King pass.
There will be an honourable and profound nation-wide grief in the wake of King Rama IX, who is greatly loved.
What follows that grieving is yet to be imagined.
God Save the King.