Blaine's latest

... are two stories from South Korea about protests against the importation of American beef.

Blaine's first story, on June 4, was about massive demonstrations by moms and kids who believe U.S. beef companies will dump mad-cow-infested beef in Korea. The new S Korean president has partly reimposed a ban on US beef that he lifted in April.

The story has this classic over-the-top quote from a fearful teenager:

Cha Yoon-min, 13, attended the protest with his mother, a lawyer in Seoul. "I am afraid of American beef," he said. "I could study hard in school. I could get a good job and then I could eat beef and just die."

Blaine's second story looked at broader fears in S Korea about meat products, including worries about bird flu in domestic poulty.

Funny oops: The US ambassador in Seoul had to apologize after saying that Koreans should "learn more about science" instead of worrying about US beef products. South Koreans are among the world's best in science education and research; the Bush administration, not so much. See also: stem-cell research and global warming.