This weekend, I started a complete rewrite of my personal homepage, which is long overdue. I designed the last one back in 2000 and some of the text there still reflects this. Also, for a long time now, my homepage at konrad.lawson.net has not been showing up in the Google database at all, and I have confirmed that it is the host which is the problem.
Thus, together with a redesign of the webpage, I am moving it here to Muninn. Now if you go to Muninn.net top level page you will find my personal homepage and this blog can be found linked via the “Projects” page of the new homepage along with other online sites I have created. I will eventually forward konrad.lawson.net to the new home here at Muninn and phase that older site out.
The new site is a work in progress, but so was the last one—which it remained after seven years.
Couldn’t the Korean government wait until I got my first book published or at least until I finished my dissertation?
The new government will not extend the mandate of five out of the 10 current presidential commissions — the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaborations with Japanese Imperialism, the Truth Commission on Forced Mobilization under Japanese Imperialism, the Presidential Commission on Suspicious Deaths in the Military, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators’ Property.
Lee Myung-bak is getting rid of two commissions that were going to get a starring role in my introduction! It is one thing to be accused of dealing with “ancient history” in one’s work but that is hardly going to hurt a historian’s feelings. On the other hand, there are few things as uncool as peddling “yesterday’s news.”
2008 will bring the world its next US president and therefore its most powerful leader. The impact of the election will go well beyond the three hundred million who can influence the outcome of this national contest.
I support the candidacy of Barack Obama, and his first major challenge is only a day away in the Iowa Caucus to be held January 3rd.
I have been consistently impressed with Obama. I support his position on a very wide range of issues, and where I disagree with him, my own views are often sufficiently marginal that any US politician who shared them would find a largely hostile electorate near impossible to overcome. His commitment to the fight against poverty, his desire to move towards universal health coverage, his support for a strong and well-funded public education system and his consistent support for a more rational and measured foreign policy are all important. His consistent opposition to the war in Iraq helps him stand out among most candidates.
On many of the key issues in this particular campaign, Obama has much in common with other candidates for the Democratic party nomination. However, I believe he stands out when we consider his personal skills and character. The role of a leading politician in a democracy is not that of the monarch. They cannot merely dictate policies after inheriting power. An excellent candidate for president of the United States must be able to inspire the electorate, persuade them of the wisdom of his or her policies and, once in office, be able to work harmoniously with both opponents and allies alike. I believe Obama is the candidate best equipped for the task. He is an incredibly gifted speaker who can combine a straightforward message without abandoning nuance. His life has been dedicated to causes worth fighting for and has fought for them at both the grass roots level and in the halls of political power. His sharp intelligence and wide knowledge are virtues too long ridiculed in American politics. He has generated an intense excitement about politics among many in our cynical generation who have long since stopped caring and I sincerely hope his efforts will help carry him to the presidency later this year.