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The Marine Corps is usually a step ahead of the Army and their recent decision to suspend their weight control program during combat is another example of this:

A recent order from headquarters at Quantico, Va., says overweight Marines sent to Iraq can be exempt from the Corps’ rigid weight-loss program, which requires frequent weigh-ins, extra physical training and “Semper Fit” lectures about nutrition.

Under an order issued before Christmas, commanders are allowed to exempt their troops in Iraq from what is usually a six-month program.

What else I like about the Marines’ weight control program is that soldiers that score well on their physical fitness test can get an increased body fat percentage. The Army does not take Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores into consideration with the current weight control program. I have seen many good soldiers in the Army get administratively seperated from the military even though they scored well on the APFT. In today’s military I think it is better to have a good chunky soldier than no soldier at all.

Plus in a combat situation often times you do not have time to do physical training or on a camp that you cannot do physical training anyway if you had the time because you have to constantly carry your weapon and wear body armor. So the Marines have definitely made a common sense decision. The Army is usually 6 months to a year behind the Marines Corps so I’m sure policies will eventually change in the Army to.

So which of my readers can pass the Marine Corps height/weight standards? I’m 6’3 and 213 pounds so I would be alright in the Marine Corps.

Not to be out done by the Marine Corps in taxi cab related incidents, 2ID has stepped up to the plate again and executed the mother of all taxi cab related incidents:

Kim said he agreed to let five men squeeze into his cab about 11 p.m. Sunday. They said they’d give a good tip for a ride to Stanley, the driver said Tuesday.

Kim agreed to take the men for 15,000 won, or about $15; the metered fare for that ride usually is about 6,000 won, he said. As Kim got close to a turnoff for Camp Stanley, the passengers, saying they had a Christmas party to attend, told him to stay on his current route. As they got further from town, Kim said, he began to worry.

“But it was Christmas,” he remembered thinking, and he kept following their directions. Then some of the passengers asked him to pull over so they could urinate, Kim said. When three left the car, the two others put him in a headlock and began to beat him with a bottle and their fists, he said.

The passengers took Kim’s cell phone and 180,000 won — about $180 — from his wallet and taxi, then put him in the trunk, he said. When one of the passengers began to drive, Kim said, he decided to run. His Hyundai Sonata taxi has a release lever inside the trunk, he said. While the cab was moving, he opened the trunk, leapt out and began to run. “I just ran and ran until I felt like dying,” he said through a translator.

He ran until he got to a Korean police office near Camp Stanley. He told the police what happened and described the five suspects. The passengers continued to drive for about half a mile, then got out and hailed another cab, said Kwon O-hyun, the detective in charge of violent crimes for Uijeongbu police. That taxi took them back to the Uijeongbu station, Kwon said.

Korean police throughout Uijeongbu were looking for five men. Police spotted the men at the station, Kwon said. By 11:40 p.m., the Korean police had apprehended one man. Kim, who had gone to a nearby hospital to be examined, went to the police station to identify the man, he said.

This is by far the most outrageous taxi cab related incident yet. Let’s go through this story step by step. He is one of the taxi cab drivers that wait for soldiers at the bottom steps of Uijongbu station and the extra $9 is not a tip but the typical extortion of GI’s by the cab drivers in Uijongbu. If you don’t believe go to the steps at Uijongbu station and try to get a ride by the metered fair.

The units these guys belong to are based on Camp Casey which leads me to believe they were not familar with the area because they could have walked over to the taxi stand area across from the station and the cab drivers there will usually give you the metered fair if you can speak a little Korean.

These guys probably were down in Itaewon partying because no train from Dongducheon runs at 11PM. Now what would lead these five soldiers to rob the cab driver? Maybe they ran out of money to get to Camp Casey and didn’t want to be late for curfew, so they rob the cabbie.

Now the next question that needs to be determined is why did these soldiers go back to the Uijongbu train station after committing the crime? They know he got out of the trunk and ran away, so obviously he would have gone straight to the police. So why go to the most visible place in all of Uijongbu, the train station, after committing the crime knowing that there are cops all around the train station and they are probably looking for you?

Maybe you can blame it on being drunk, but usually committing a crime sobers you up really quick. Maybe since they are from Camp Casey they went to the train station to get a train to Dongducheon because they were not on pass. However, the last train to Dongducheon leaves at 9:45PM. You would think they would have checked the schedule before leaving the station the first time. If they took this guy’s money; why didn’t they just pay another taxi cab driver to take them back to Dongducheon instead?

If these soldiers did in fact commit the crime as described by the cab driver they are by far one of the stupidest criminals in 2ID history. Maybe 2ID needs to create a Hall of Shame at the 2ID musuem on CRC to recognize 2ID stupidest criminals.

This whole story is just extremely strange even by 2ID standards, so I’m going to hold judgement until more facts come out. If people know more facts about this from the Korean media please feel free to comment on it.

One thing is for sure though; the cab driver is going to play this one out for all it’s worth:

Kim, who is 42 and has driven a taxi for seven years in Uijeongbu, was being treated at the hospital Tuesday afternoon. He said he has fatigue and headaches and his neck is swollen. He also said he’s afraid to sleep at night.

He is supposed to meet with a counselor within the next week, he said, and on Wednesday he was to meet with the military’s Criminal Investigation Division.

He said he didn’t know when he would return to work but when he did he would think twice before picking up U.S. soldiers. But, he acknowledged, he needs the American customers — typically big tippers — to make ends meet.

I don’t think he means Americans are big tippers, but big suckers. I have no doubt Mr. Kim will be back working the steps of Uijongbu Station in no time at all.

Some people may be getting some unwanted text messages real soon as Korea decides to send indictment messages through cell phone text messaging:

In a country where about 75 percent of the population carries mobile phones, prosecutors felt it was time to move away from sending legal notices on paper and send them electronically instead, said Lee Young-pyo, an administrative official.

Other notices that will be sent by text messages include information on fines and penalties.

This is a great innovation because this means the authorities can just text message Dr. Hwang with indictment messages the next time he goes into hiding at a mental hospital or Buddhist temple.

Via the Japundit, here is how Nomad may finally be able to get those abs at 45 courtesy of Korea’s very own Dancing UFO:

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Click Here for a hilarious video and a page in Korean for those just drooling to buy this product.

I know it is tragic that two rice farmers were killed in a violent protest against opening the rice market, but I just can’t feel sorry for them when they were the ones that initialized the outrageous violence against the police. However, President Roh does feel sorry for them and apologized today for the incident:

President Roh Moo-hyun apologized publicly yesterday, a day after the Korea National Human Rights Commission announced that two protesters had died of injuries at the hands of police.
“I bow my head to the public in apology and pray for the souls of the dead,” Mr. Roh said at a televised press conference from the Blue House. “The government will sort out who is responsible and have them punished,” he continued. “The government will make proper compensation to the victims.”

Like I said I don’t feel sorry for these people when they break the law, destroy property, and assault policemen. In addition the Korean HRC really has no legitimacy to me because they do nothing to condemn human rights conditions just 30 miles North of Seoul in North Korea, but are quick to jump in an criticize the Korean National Policemen who routinely get their butts kicked in by these outrageous violent protests. I guess the policemen aren’t entitled to the same human rights as the rice farmers.

At least President Roh did criticize the protesters a little bit along with the police:

Mr. Roh also spoke out yesterday about the violence that frequently accompanies protests in Korea. “If there were no violent rallies where protesters wielded steel pipes, such a mishap would have not happened,” the president said. “Our society and the government should correct these problems.”

While appearing to take pains not to criticize the police too harshly, he still stressed that special caution is needed when force was used by law-enforcement agencies.

I just makes me wonder if the Korean government would prefer that mandatory service draftees that make up the riot police for the KNP should be killed instead of these criminal rice farmer rioters.

The Marines do not like to be out done by the Army at anything. Well the Marines are now making their move at surpassing 2ID in taxi cab related incidents:

According to a police report, the Marine became upset at 4:55 a.m. when the cabbie told him his taxi was not authorized to take him on nearby Kadena Air Base, and he struck the $100 sign with his fist. He was apprehended by police officers patrolling the area and was released from custody Sunday after police referred a misdemeanor charge of vandalism to the prosecutor’s office.

The third incident reportedly began about 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the Kumoji district of Naha, where two lance corporals assigned to Camp Kinser were allegedly involved in another incident involving a cab. According to a police spokesman, a 22-year-old Marine was being arrested for vandalism for jumping up and down on the roof of the cab when his 25-year-old friend grabbed a policeman’s arm. Both appeared to be drunk, a police spokesman said.

Two taxi cab related incidents in one night. That is pretty good, that matches 2ID’s record. It looks like the Marines still have some more work to do though.

Can anyone answer this Korea Finder before Mark does?

The Korean farmers that got arrested for protesting in Hong Kong during the WTO meeting have been accusing the Hong Kong authorities of police brutality by using rubber bullets. Oranckay has a good picture of the alleged injuries from the rubber bullets:

Something about this picture just looks fake especially the bandages. One of Oranckay’s commenters left a link to this picture of what rubber bullet hits should look like from the WTO protest in Seattle:

I think it is safe to call these farmers frauds. Even if the Hong Kong police used rubber bullets what’s the big deal? Hong Kong isn’t Korea so the Korean percpetions against rubber bullets doesn’t matter. Plus who can blame the cops for using rubber bullets when they are getting attacked by metal wipe weilding idiots?

Really nothing new here other than North Korea has found a new person to work their insult magic on:

North Korea criticized the United States’ top envoy to Seoul for making provocative remarks about the communist country, calling the ambassador a “tyrant,” a news report said Sunday.

“It is clear (Vershbow) is a tyrant wearing the mask of a diplomat,” the North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary Sunday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

Like I said before nothing new here, and of course the South Korean government is quickly kissing North Korean butt afterwards:

Vershbow’s comments also have drawn rebukes from South Korean officials. Kim Won-wung, a lawmaker of the ruling Uri Party, recently warned he would campaign for Vershbow’s expulsion unless the ambassador moderates his criticism of the North.

I was thinking about this and maybe someone can answer this question, but does South Korea have the authority to expel a diplomat for saying something that people in the Uri Party don’t agree with? I wonder what the US response to a diplmat being expelled from South Korea would be?

The Korean farmers that got arrested for protesting in Hong Kong during the WTO meeting have been accusing the Hong Kong authorities of police brutality by using rubber bullets. Oranckay has a good picture of the alleged injuries from the rubber bullets:

Something about this picture just looks fake especially the bandages. One of Oranckay’s commenters left a link to this picture of what rubber bullet hits should look like from the WTO protest in Seattle:

I think it is safe to call these farmers frauds. Even if the Hong Kong police used rubber bullets what’s the big deal? Hong Kong isn’t Korea so the Korean percpetions against rubber bullets doesn’t matter. Plus who can blame the cops for using rubber bullets when they are getting attacked by metal wipe weilding idiots?