Yep

2012

Chocobo drink

From a blog:

Chocobo (Final Fantasy cocktail)

Ingredients:

1/2 part Rose's Lime Juice Cordial

1/2 part Pineapple liqueur

1 Lemon wheel

Directions: Shake liquid ingredients and pour into a small glass. Float a lemon wheel on top.

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R2D2 suitcase

From the Technabob blog:

R2-D2 Suitcase Carries More Than Holograms

Posted: 07 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Is there any better way to carry around your clothes than by using an astromech droid? Let a droid carry all of your stuff the next time you go on vacation with this awesome R2-D2 suitcase.

It's probably not an officially licensed piece of Star Warsmerchandise since it's simply called a "Robot Trolley," but who cares? It features four polycarbonate wheels so it should be quiet as it is rolling along and if you really want to get into the whole theme, you can always dress up as C-3PO when going through airport security with this thing.

Sure, it's not exactly shaped like our beloved droid friend, but it's close enough. Just pretend that R2 was in an accident with a trash compactor.

The R2-D2 suitcase Robot Trolley is available from Salvador Bachiller for €76 (~$96 USD

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Apple rival to Pandora

From the Technabob blog:

Rumor Claims Apple is in Talks to Create a Pandora Rival

Posted: 07 Sep 2012 02:30 PM PDT

A rumor is making its rounds today from sources claiming to be familiar with the matter about plans Apple has for new music service. According to the sources, Apple is in talks to license music for a custom radio service similar to Pandora. The streaming music service would offer custom stations to users to allow them to automatically play music similar to a specific song or artist.

According to the sources, the Apple service would work on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. The sources also claim that the service could possibly be available for computers using Windows. The source did add that the service would not be available for Android devices, which is no surprise.

As is typical with rumors, Apple is offering no comment. This could be a very popular service for a lot of people. A lot of users of Apple devices have been clamoring for a subscription music service for years, this could be as close as you get. I wonder if we will hear more on this on the 12th, along with Apple's likely iPhone 5 announcement

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Pool Toys

From the Technabob blog:

Inflatable Star Wars Pool Toys Perfect for Floating in the Dagobah Swamp

Posted: 07 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT

Summer is nearly over, but that doesn't mean you can't still hit the pool or swim in the ocean for the next few months. These Star Wars inflatable pool toys are inspiration enough for me to hop back in the waters, even with Fall approaching.

As you can see, the series includes awesome Millennium Falcon and X-Wing Fighter floating loungers, as well as the world's best beachball – made to look like the Death Star. But I think the floating R2-D2 drink server is my favorite, as the little droid was built to serve after all. And if your favorite body of water happens to be a swamp, you can pretend to be on Dagobah.

Apparently, these things were made by Jakks Pacific a couple of years ago and distributed through Target stores in the US and Walmart stores in Canada. I never saw them in stores, and I'm not sure if they're still making them, but you might want to keep an eye out on eBay for them to turn up there. In the mean time, I found a Jar Jar Binks inflatable pool if you'd like to fill it with water and then throw Jarts at Jar Jar's face

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Infant Abductions

Infant Abductions

A Violent Trend Emerges

09/07/12

It is relatively rare for infants to be abducted by strangers. But it does happen. And recent analysis of abduction cases by the FBI suggests there are new and troubling trends for expectant parents to be aware of, including women kidnappers using violence to commit their crimes and social media to target their victims.

In April, for example, a 30-year-old Texas woman shot and killed a 28-year-old mother while kidnapping her three-day-old son from a pediatric center. The infant was recovered six hours later.

	Exercising Good Sense Online and at Home Mothers and fathers are understandably absorbed with their new babies, but they should still exercise caution and common sense when using social networking sites online: - Make sure your online privacy settings do not allow strangers—and possible offenders—to gain access to personal information such as where you plan to be with your baby at a certain time or on a certain day. Inadequate privacy settings also allow others to track your movements using embedded information in pictures posted online. - Our Crimes Against Children Unit suggests that new parents may not want to display the traditional pink or blue balloons outside their homes announcing a baby shower or a new arrival. "Doing so will advise random strangers that you have a new baby in the house or will soon," said Intelligence Analyst Ashli-Jade Douglas. - People in general and especially new and expectant mothers should be aware of their surroundings whenever they are out in public. "Is someone too interested in your pregnancy or your newborn, asking too many questions or sounding odd?" Douglas asked. "Those may be red flags." - Lastly, any type of incident or odd behavior should be reported to local authorities. "You may not think it's important," Douglas explained, "but that type of information allows us to track incidents and it could help prevent future abductions."

"For the most part, women are no longer going into hospitals and dressing in nurse's uniforms and walking out with children," said Ashli-Jade Douglas, an FBI intelligence analyst who works in our Crimes Against Children Unit and specializes in child abduction matters. That's because hospital security has greatly improved over the years.

A recent case illustrates the point: Last month, a woman entered a California hospital dressed in medical scrubs and abducted a newborn girl, hiding the baby in a bag. But when she attempted to walk out of the hospital, the baby's security bracelet triggered an alarm and the woman was caught.

Because of heightened hospital security, Douglas said, "now women who desperately want a child—and are willing to go to extreme lengths to get one—have to gain direct contact with their victims, and that's when things can turn violent."

The women who commit these crimes are usually between the ages of 17 and 33," said Douglas, who provides analytical support to our Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. "Usually they are unable to get pregnant. Often, they will fake a pregnancy in the hopes of keeping a boyfriend or husband." In most cases, she added, the women intend no harm to the infants—and maybe not even the mother. "They just want a child to raise as their own and will do anything to get one."

	Podcast: FBI intelligence analyst discusses issue.

Another emerging trend, Douglas said, is that women desperate for a child are turning to social networking websites to locate victims. "We have seen several recent cases involving social networking sites," she explained, "and we see how easy it is to use these websites to gain access to targets."

In January, for example, a 32-year-old Florida woman developed a friendship with a younger new mother through a social networking site. The woman lied about having her own newborn and claimed the child was sick and in the hospital. The victim invited the woman to spend the night at her house, and the next morning, when the victim was in the shower, the woman abducted her two-week-old infant. She then deleted her contact information from the victim's social networking site, thinking she would not be found. The baby was recovered and the woman was arrested.

"Parents should check their privacy settings on social networking sites," Douglas said, and they should always use caution on the Internet (see sidebar). Without the proper settings, pictures posted online can contain embedded information that allows others to track your movements.

"This information is important to share with parents," Douglas said. "They should be aware of their physical surroundings and how they use the Internet. This can help protect mothers and their babies."

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Final Fantasy

Thinking of my baby girl. 

From Technabob blog:

Final Fantasy Ultimate Box Gives You All 13 Games for $450

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT

Do you love the Final Fantasy games? I don't just mean love. I mean, are you obsessed with the franchise? Do you collect all of the merchandise? Well, here's the ultimate package to feed your obsession. To celebrate 25 years, Square-Enix(JP) has packaged together all of its core Final Fantasy titles into a single box set.


You'll not only get discs for Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy XIII, but you also get a numbered presentation plaque with new artwork from character artist Yoshitaka Amano, a two-disc soundtrack and a commemorative DVD. It will cost you 35,000 yen, (~$450USD). To play all of the games, you'll need a PlayStation, a PlayStation 2, a PlayStation 3 and a PSP.

It will arrive in Japan on December 18th, but sadly it probably won't go on sale internationally any time soon, so the rest of us will just have to deal and whine about it.

[via Joystiq via Engadget]

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7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda

Is Diet Soda Bad For You?
7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda
Why you need a diet drink detox—stat!
By Mandy Oaklander

Deceivingly "Diet"
Pop quiz! What's the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff every day. "But I drink diet soda," you say. "With no calories or sugar, it's the perfect alternative for weight watchers…. Right?"

Not so fast. Before you pop the top off the caramel-colored bubbly, know this: guzzling diet soda comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health—from kickstarting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline.

Unfortunately, diet soda is more in vogue than ever. Kids consume the stuff at more than double the rate of last decade, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among adults, consumption has grown almost 25%.

But knowing these 7 side effects of drinking diet soda may help you kick the can for good.

Kidney Problems
Here's something you didn't know about your diet soda: It might be bad for your kidneys. In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day. Even more interesting: Since kidney decline was not associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, researchers suspect that the diet sweeteners are responsible.
The Skinny on Artificial Sweeteners

Messed-Up Metabolism
According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease. Whether that link is attributed to an ingredient in diet soda or the drinkers' eating habits is unclear. But is that one can really worth it?

Obesity
You read that right: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight after all. A University of Texas Health Science Center study found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue University. That means people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it's eating sugar, and you crave more.

A Terrible Hangover
Your first bad decision was ordering that Vodka Diet—and you may make the next one sooner than you thought. Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster, according to a study out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. That's because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, leaving you with a bigger buzz.

Cell Damage
Diet sodas contain something many regular sodas don't: mold inhibitors. They go by the names sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and they're in nearly all diet sodas. But many regular sodas, such as Coke and Pepsi, don't contain this preservative.
That's bad news for diet drinkers. "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it - they knock it out altogether," Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., told a British newspaper in 1999. The preservative has also been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Since then, some companies have phased out sodium benzoate. Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have replaced it with another preservative, potassium benzoate. Both sodium and potassium benzoate were classified by the Food Commission in the UK as mild irritants to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

Rotting Teeth
With a pH of 3.2, diet soda is very acidic. (As a point of reference, the pH of battery acid is 1. Water is 7.) The acid is what readily dissolves enamel, and just because a soda is diet doesn't make it acid-light. Adults who drink three or more sodas a day have worse dental health, says a University of Michigan analysis of dental checkup data. Soda drinkers had far greater decay, more missing teeth, and more fillings.

Reproductive Issues
Sometimes, the vessel for your beverage is just as harmful. Diet or not, soft drink cans are coated with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. That's a lot of risktaking for one can of pop.
Best BPA-Free Bottles for Your Workout
Published August 2012, Prevention | Updated August 2012
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/diet-soda-bad-you


Read more: http://www.prevention.com/print/31447#ixzz25msW7Kph

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Mario Guitar and cool misc.

From the Technabob blog:

 

 

Custom Mario Guitar: Its-a Me, Guitario!

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:45 PM PDT

If I could play the guitar and play it well, then I'd definitely go out and try to score myself one of these awesome customized Mario Bros. guitars. I mean, just look at it.

Of course, the first thing I'd actually play is a rocked-out version of the Super Mario Bros. theme. How about you?

This custom guitar was made by 'geekd out', who hails from Australia. He describes it as:

24 Fret, Full size, amazing quality. Full floating tremolo, Locking neck, Easy access to the top of the neck, Mushroom inlays, amazing sound, and looks fantastic.

Here's a clip of him playing his awesome guitar:

Looks like the Super Mario guitar is for sale up on G33KeD for $489 Australian Dollars (~$500 USD), and you'd better move quick if you want one. You never know if Nintendo's lawyers will swoop in and try and stop to this wonderful (but likely unofficial) guitar.

[via Obvious Winner]

 

Freddie Mercury + Angry Birds = Freddie Birdcury

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT

If you're a fan of rock 'n roll, odds are you're familiar with the band Queen, and you know the late vocal talent of Freddie Mercury was the frontman for the group. To celebrate his birthday, Rovio made Freddie Mercury an honorary member of the Angry Birds family.

Rovio has released a new animation featuring Freddie the Angry Bird riding his bicycle to a famous Queen song called "Bicycle Race." The video is live as of right now and you can view below. The video shows a birdified Mercury cruising on his bicycle wearing his Queen crown.

The mustachioed avian animation was created in support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust and Freddie for a Day, an event planned for September 5th to help raise funds for the fight against AIDS.

 

Now You Can Leave Tips Using Your Credit Card with DipJar Posted: 03 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT While most sit-down restaurants offer a way to add on a tip when you sign the credit card slip, It's a bit of a hassle to have to fish for some loose change or bills in your wallet after paying for a cup of coffee or snacks using your credit card. But if DipJar gets traction, then you might soon be able to leave tips simply by 'dipping' your card into the jar. DipJar is an electronic jar of sorts that has been programmed to charge you $1 every time you dip your card into it. So if you want to leave a $5 tip, you're going have to swipe your card five times, so that might sound taxing. But really, how tiring is it to have to dip your card five times into the slot? I'd imagine not very much – though it might wear out the stripe on your card faster. The DipJar is currently being tested for use in coffee shops, restaurants, cafes, and every other establishment out there that accepts tips. You can contact the crew behind it if you want to get a DipJar for your own establishment. All you have to do is tell them a bit about your store and location and sign up on their site. If they like you, they'll send you a DipJar so you can start collecting tips electronically. [via DipJar via Eater]

iPhone 5 Images Leaked (We Think) Posted: 03 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT It seems like Apple's getting pretty bad at keeping its secrets. Either that, or people are just getting better at uncovering them. While they don't have a complete, working phone, the folks over at China's iColorOS somehow managed to get their hands on various parts of the iPhone 5 to assemble their very own version of the device. By parts, we mean the exterior stuff like the case and metal plates because I'm sure no one would be able to leave Apple HQ with the actual insides of an iPhone 5 and live to tell the world about it. (I'm kidding. I think.) Here's what the leaked images prove: The iPhone 5 has a bigger screen compared to its predecessor – around 0.5 inches larger, providing a true 16×9 aspect ratio for video content. It's going to come with a smaller dock port, so say goodbye to the 30-pin dock. The FaceTime camera has been re-positioned to somewhere on top of the ear receiver. The earphone jack has been moved to the bottom of the device, by the speakers. Of course, the exterior of the iPhone 5 tells us nothing about what's going on under the hood, like whether or not it's running a new A6 chip or the same A5 from the current iPad, nor does it tell us about the display's resolution, or any other hardware improvements, like the hotly-anticipated 4G connectivity. Guess we'll just have to wait until Apple's September 12 event for the full reveal. [via Nowhereelse.fr via Dvice]

 

Morning Mayhem 09-04-2012

Don't you love going to work or school and not remember your combination or your passwords after a long vacation or holiday. I always happen to change all of mine the day before and it takes me awhile before I can remember. I had that swagger like - I got this, I'll remember. Oh and if I happened to write it down - I can never remember where I put it. <sigh>

 

I noticed to that I had toothpaste on my shirt. Nice! What a bonus.

 

Hope your morning is better.

 

 

"All of your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them." -  ºoº Walt Disney ºoº  

 

Disney + Weddings = cuteness

Did you know that if you send Mickey and Minnie Mouse an invitation to your wedding they'll send you back an autographed photo and a 'Just Married' button?

Also, if you send Cinderella and Prince Charming an invitation, you'll get an autographed congratulatory certificate.

Here are the addresses:

Micky & Minnie
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521

Cinderella and Prince Charming

P.O. Box 1000
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830

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Bible verse 09-03-12

Breakfast on the Beach Monday September 3, 2012 by Women of Faith

Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?"—knowing that it was the Lord. John 21:12 It had been a tough morning. Following Jesus' death, several disciples returned to their regularly scheduled programming. They got up early, took their fishing nets, and . . . nothing. Not a bite. Until some guy stood on the shore and called out a weird suggestion to throw their nets in from the other side of the boat. I wonder if any of them grumbled briefly, "What difference does it make which side of the boats we throw the nets from? Who is this guy?" But by then, they were desperate enough to try anything. Suddenly, when their nets were heavy, the same question took on a different meaning, because they knew the answer. John shouted, "It is the Lord!" and Peter could not get to Jesus fast enough. Other than suggesting that they add some of the fresh catch to His spread, Jesus' sole response was, "Come and eat breakfast." Now, wait just a minute. When read in context, the scripture notes that this is Jesus' third post-resurrection appearance, a miracle unto itself. After all, these men saw Him perish on the cross. And not only that, He's preparing a meal on the beach—not as a ghost or apparition, but as a physical being able to lift things and build a fire, etc. Then, after their own efforts had been useless, He provides an abundance of fish with one simple instruction. And after these marvels, He simply says, "Come and eat breakfast"? Yes. We create so much unnecessary hoopla in our own regularly scheduled programming. We plan, we implement, and we work hard . . . and get frustrated when nothing comes of it. Desperate and empty, we finally look to Jesus as a last resort—because we don't recognize who He is. And sometimes, really, all He's asking is that we come join Him and take part in what He's prepared and created. The rest will come. So declutter your mind of plans, schedules, and "to do" lists. Instead, look out upon the waves, wiggle your toes in the sand, absorb the sights, smells, and sounds, and enjoy the moment for what it is&mdashnot what it means, not what lies ahead, not how you arrived here. There will be another time for that. For now, just be present with Him. After all, in the best relationships, sometimes words are unnecessary. Lord Jesus, I bring no words, no petitions with me right now. Just a moment to be still and commune with You in gratitude and love, using all of my senses to absorb and celebrate Your beautiful creation.

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Garden tips for veggies

From Saving Dinner:

Love these emails I get. They are full of info. 

I'm going to shred the rest of my zucchini to save for later. Smart. 

Making the most of the harvest!

by Leanne Ely

The summer is on its way out in many parts of the country. With the kids back in school, it's like a signal to the brain to start gathering food for the winter!

If you live in a part of the world where fresh local veggies are a summer luxury, you want to take advantage of Mother Earth's bounty at this time of year. Even if you live in a climate that's warm and sunny year round, you want to stock pile items when they're in season - at the peak of their freshness - so you can enjoy them when they are in shorter supply. 

Here are some ways to get the most out of some common veggies that are known for taking over gardens!

Zucchini. These summer squashes are prolific. When you grow zucchini you better like it because those plants are pretty serious producers. Zucchini is an extremely versatile food (we will be featuring it in a post later this week so watch for that!) which can be enjoyed sliced into a stirfry, grated into a meatloaf or shredded and baked into a chocolate cake or a batch of muffins. I like to add zucchini to my stirfrys for as many meals as possible and I cook some into relishes and salsas, but I also grate my zucchini and freeze it in one cup portions to have for baking, soups and pasta sauce.

Tomatoes. Besides the obvious suggestion of canning your tomatoes or making them into salsa, did you know you can also freeze them? Just toss your tomatoes in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. Take them out as you need them to make pizza sauce, pasta sauce or chili.

Beans. I like to freeze beans rather than canning them, mostly because that way they keep their nice green color. Wash your beans, snip the ends and cut them into 2-inch pieces or leave them whole. Blanch them by putting them in boiling water for about 3 minutes, and then put them in an ice bath for 3 minutes before placing them in the container you'll be freezing them in. I use plain old freezer bags. 

Spinach. I don't like to waste a single leaf of this green miracle vegetable! Fresh spinach is fabulous in salads but salad from the garden can be frozen and used in smoothies, sauces and all kinds of other dishes all year long. Simply wash your spinach (a couple of times) to remove dirt and bugs. Spin it as dry as you can and then stuff it into freezer bags to take out as needed. You don't need to thaw it before using it.  

Beets. If you have more beets than you know what to do with but you can't stand them pickled, did you know you can freeze them? Cook a big batch of beets then put them in an ice bath. When they're nice and cold, peel off the skins and slice them. Put them in freezer bags and away you go!

Peppers. Warning! Peppers lose their crunchiness after they've been frozen and thawed, but they keep their flavor. Frozen peppers are best suited for cooked dishes where the crunch isn't important. To freeze peppers, simply slice them how you like and freeze in bags!

Do you have any food preservation tips for us to make the most of other seasonal foods?http://www.facebook.com/savingdinner

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Zelda Historia book

From Technabob blog:

Legend of Zelda Hyrule Historia Book: A Link to Link and Everything Zelda

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Fans of the Legend of Zelda series have long wondered about the chronology and connection of the 16 main games. As part of its 25th anniversary celebration this year, its creators finally revealed the canonical answer to these questions and more in the bookLegend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. Originally available only in Japan and only in Japanese, an English translation of the book is now slated for release in North America as well.

Aside from explaining "the full history" of the franchise – including details on the bloodline of the Hylians and their decline – the 274-page Zelda bible also contains lots of never before seen concept art and sketches, as well as a Skyward Sword manga. Here's a look at the Japanese version of the book, courtesy of YouTuber MyGamingBoulevard:

The Amazon listing for the book claims that co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto co-authored the book, but all I can say for sure is that he penned the book's introduction. You can pre-order the book from TFAW for $28 (USD) or from Amazon for $21. It will be available on January 29, 2013

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Avengers 2

From Technabob blog:

The Avengers 2 Release Date Revealed

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT

The superhero flick The Avengers was one of the biggest earning films of the year and proved so popular planning for a sequel commenced right away (if not before the movie was released.) If you're a big fan of superhero movies, you'll be excited to hear that the launch date for the sequel to The Avengers has been offered up.

It appears that the film is simply called The Avengers 2, and Joss Whedon will be returning to direct this one. The release date that has surfaced for now is May 1, 2015. Sadly, that's nearly three years from now. I honestly thought the movie would come out as quickly as the studio could turn around another film. I guess one of the reasons it's going to take a while for the film the hit theaters is that Iron Man star Robert Downey, Jr. is working hard on another blockbuster superhero film right now, and is currently shooting Iron Man 3.

Thankfully, we won't have to wait as long to get our Marvel fix, as Iron Man 3′s expected launch date is May 3, 2013.

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Athletes returning to home country

After London 2012: Returning a Risk for North Korean AthletesKristin Wright

ReligionToday.com Columnist

London 2012 marks North Korea's most successful Olympics since 1992. The North Koreans have taken home 4 gold medals and a bronze in their most successful presentation in decades. With 56 athletes entered in 11 sports, the communist country seemed relentless in its quest to win.

Gold medalist Kim Un-Guk, among other North Korean medalists, was quick to praise North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, for the victory he achieved. "I won first place because the shining Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un gave me power and courage," he said.

But what happens when North Korean athletes fail to bring home the gold? ABC News reported last week that North Korea offers athletes a carrot-and-stick approach – televisions, refrigerators and cars for winners, and labor camp sentences for losers.

The rumors aren't confirmed, but athletes report that "review meetings" exist after the competitions, in which those found to be disloyal to North Korea's regime are banned from competing and even sentenced to forced labor camps. With the stakes so high, many people have wondered why North Koreans don't take the opportunity afforded by the Olympics to leave their communist homeland and seek asylum elsewhere.

But experts say that leaving North Korea is not that simple.

On NPR's All Things Considered, Olympic historian David Wallechinsky weighed in on why North Koreans aren't defecting as the games wind to a close. "I have actually visited North Korea and this is the most repressive country I've ever been to," Wallechinskysaid. "What they do is they threaten the families."

Wallechinsky described speaking to Albania's greatest athlete shortly after the fall of communism. The man told him that when he went to the 1972 Olympics there was a minder for every athlete. "They were never allowed to be alone," he reported. "And I'm sure that's the exact same thing that the North Koreans are doing."

Human rights experts say that North Korea's brutal concentration camps are designed for the punishment of those found disloyal to the regime. Satellite images of the camps reveal miles of death camps that confine more than 200,000 political prisoners.

Defectors speak of horrific abuse that occurs within the camps – forced labor, torture, rape, execution. Shin Dong-hyuk grew up in a North Korean concentration camp. His father's father had been imprisoned years before when his brother defected to South Korea. For this, Shin's entire family had been imprisoned for generations. Shin rarely saw his mother or his father as they were separated in different parts of the camp. While he was still a child he and his father were forced to watch his mother and brother as they were executed for attempting to escape.

With such dire circumstances faced by those who oppose the regime in any way, it's little wonder that North Korean athletes have been so quick to sing the praises of their new leader. The winner of Olympic gold in the women's judo 52-kilogram division, An Kum-Ae, made her patriotic ambitions clear immediately. ""As an athlete I believe by winning the gold medal I was able to glorify my nation and give support to the people of my nation, so I am really happy," she said. "I believe I gave some happiness and joy to our leader, Kim Jong Un."

The poverty-struck nation of 25 million has been afforded the opportunity to watch five hours a day of live Olympic coverage – although viewing is of course limited to those with electricity. Featured interviews on North Korean television shows citizens proclaiming their adoration for Kim Jong Un.

Yang Moo Jin, a professor at University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, says that North Koreans have a lot resting on their Olympic performances. "North Korea is giving their best performance," he says. "It's the first Olympics since the Kim Jong Un regime took over, so they're trying to use it to boost morale for their people and unite them."

According to the North Korea Freedom Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based group advocating for human rights in North Korea, "Human rights in North Korea are virtually non-existent." The group reports that "the government regulates individual lives from speech, opinion, and thought, to employment, travel, and food rations," and says that "hundreds of thousands have fled to China and other neighboring countries to seek subsistence."

The North Korea Freedom Coalition advocates for prisoners of conscience in North Korea, as well as those who have tried to escape. The group says that "China continues to forcibly repatriate North Koreans to a fate that includes imprisonment where they may experience torture, medical and chemical experiments, forced abortions, infanticide, starvation, and hard labor."

Could the prospect of facing these horrific circumstances be driving some of the relentless praise for Kim Jong Un from the nation's Olympians? As the Olympics wind down, there seems to be no end in sight for the praise directed at the nation's "Dear Leader." Om Yun Chol won gold in the men's 56-kilogram weightlifting. "There are no secrets," he said later. "The reason for my improvement and how I won the gold medal is [due] to the warm love of the Great Leader Kim Jong Il and the Great Comrade Kim Jong Un."

Kristin Wright is a columnist and contributing writer at ReligionToday.com, where she focuses on global human rights and religious freedom issues. Kristin has covered topics such as bride trafficking in North Korea, honor killings in Pakistan, the persecution of members of minority faiths in Iran, and the plight of Syrian refugees. She has visited with religious minorities in Pakistan, worked with children at risk in Mumbai's "Red Light" district, and interviewed individuals on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kristin can be contacted via her website at kristinwright.net or email at kristin@kristinwright.net.

Publication date: August 10, 2012

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