A Rand research study has confirmed something that I feel many military members would agree with:
Overwork is harder on military morale than deployments, and the military should consider providing extra pay and other rewards to people who put in unusually long hours, according to a new study by the Rand Corp. think tank.
The money or recognition would go to both deployed and nondeployed people under the recommendations in the study, “How Deployments Affect Servicemembers,†released Dec. 20 by Rand Corp.’s National Security Research Division.
The work was based on a combination of focus groups and surveys that looked at morale in the ranks and service members’ stated intentions to stay in or leave the military.
Researchers found people who perceive they are working longer than usual, whether at their home bases or while deployed, say they are less likely to remain in the military.
Deployments, when judged alone, tend to make service members more likely to remain in the military, said James Hosek, one of the report’s authors.
I think long work hours are something that absolutely kills morale. Especially when you are working long work hours for no reason. I have seen this to often in the Army where you have a supervisor that BSs around all day than likes to work late into the evening because he is not married or whatever other reason and keeps the rest of his subordinates in late with him, instead of giving the soldiers work to get done during duty hours.
There is nothing more frustrating than getting ready to go home at the close of business and then getting a meeting or work project dumped on you right before you are about to step out the door and have already called the wife to let her know you would be home for dinner.
Deployments are not bad and are in fact good for morale when the soldiers all believe in what they are doing. However, very few people believe in working till 2200 every night and that is what kills morale.
South Korean currency experts agree that the US counterfeit money allegedly being manufactured in North Korea is probably true:
South Korean currency experts agree it is highly likely that intricately forged US$100 bills are made in North Korea, as Washington has maintained. In April, a large stash of the “supernotes†— so called because they are 90 percent identical to the real thing — was uncovered in South Korea.
The notes are made with paper almost identical to that used for official U.S. currency. “What the U.S. uses in printing currency is highly classified, and because analysis of the materials is impossible, 100 percent exact replicas are also impossible,” says Seo Tae-suk of the Korea Exchange Bank, an expert at spotting counterfeit banknotes. “But in these bills, the materials are so similar that the sense of touch cannot distinguish them, and in that regard the fakes are 90 percent identical to the official currency.â€
However these expert opinions mean litte to the South Korean government:
Seoul says that is not enough to conclude that North Korea is behind the forgeries. It says while the evidence will easily support an assumption, it is insufficient to face down North Korean demands for concrete and irrefutable proof.
South Korea therefore hopes that the U.S. will produce more evidence soon. If the counterfeiting spat prolongs into a deadlock, it could paralyze attempts to solve the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
I bet South Korea wouldn’t be dragging their feet if it was their money being counterfeited.
The Cholla provinces of southeastern Korea have been with 54 centimeters of snow and more wintery weather is on the way:
The KMA yesterday issued heavy snow warnings on Changsong, Hampyong, Yongkwang in South Cholla Province and Kochang, Puan, Kunsan, Kimje in North Cholla Province.
The weather agency said that Seoul, Kyonggi and Kangwon provinces will receive 1 cm of snow Friday, while Ullungdo and Dokdo will receive 5-15 cm and Chungchong and Cholla provinces about 5-25 cm.
I can’t say I have ever seen a Dress Cafe before but apparently they are the newest fad in Seoul:
The so-called dress cafes, especially, are becoming very popular. Customers are given a choice of costume–wedding dress, cocktail dress, you name it–and are given a quick makeup session, after which they are all set for a cell- phone photo shoot. They can even enjoy a cup of coffee while they wait.
About a dozen of these makeover cafes are already up and running in Seoul, attracting women from across the generation gap.
One such cafe, said to be the first of its kind in Seoul, is located near the prestigious Ewha Women’s University.
I wonder if they got drinky girl outfits?
Now here is a better idea then exporting stem cell technology to put Korea on the map:
South Korea’s government unveiled a five-year plan to develop and commercialize fuel cell-powered and hybrid-engined cars by 2010.
The plan to assist research and development of environment-friendly vehicles was approved at a cabinet meeting, the ministry of commerce, industry and energy said.
The government will offer tax breaks and ask state firms and public agencies to buy the new vehicles, it said.
The ministry suggested South Korea could produce more than 4,000 hybrid-engined vehicles by 2008.
I am a big advocate for alternative energy for cars and there is a huge market there for those who are willing to think outside the box. The Japanese have already jumped on this market and currently dominate the hybrid car market while US automobile companies continued to focus on making SUV’s and are now suffering huge losses because of it.
If a company makes a fuel efficient car that looks and performs like a traditional gasoline powered car people will be willing to pay a bit extra to buy it because they understand the amount of money they will be saving at the pump. Now if the government would offer tax breaks for people buying fuel efficient cars than the market would really take off.
Just think about the trickle down effect buying less gasoline would have. Yes, it would improve air quality, but most importantly it would improve national security because less oil money going to autocratic Middle Eastern regimes means they have to liberalize their economies to order to survive in today’s globalized world which means their citizens would actually have to work for a living instead of living off the oil wealth which allows them to hang out at the nearest madrassa all day and learn how to properly behead infidels.
However, one word of caution for Korean automakers; don’t make the fuel cell version of the Rodius. That would be disastrous.
I would like to know what the heck these bank robbers in Ulsan were thinking?:
A pair of robbers armed with air rifles took 70 million won ($68,900) in cash and checks from an Ulsan branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation yesterday morning in what appears to have been an elaborate plot gone wrong.
Lee Yong-cheol, the manager of the Bonggye branch of the agricultural bank, said two men entered the bank wearing mountain-climbing hats and sunglasses. They ordered the six employees and four customers there at the time to lie face down on the floor. As one of the pair guarded the door, the other ordered a staff member to transfer 950 million won to an account at another bank in a Japanese name. The employee stalled for time, saying the branch would have to get its headquarters’ approval before transferring that large a sum.
The robbers then ordered the staff members to put all their cash into a bag they were carrying and fled.
“The whole thing took no more than three to four minutes, and we did not have time to send an alarm to the police or our security guard agency. No closed-circuit television was on at the time,” Mr. Lee said.
About 30 minutes after the robbery took place, three men were arrested in Kimhae, south of Ulsan, while attempting to withdraw money from the bank account named by the Ulsan robbers. Police are questioning them about the Ulsan incident.
The white Hyundai Accent getaway car was found about an hour after the robbery at a village 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the bank. It had been set afire.
I think it is safe to say these two are idiots.
Activists (AKA-criminals) is blaming the Korean riot police for the death of one protester:
Junnong, an umbrella group representing farmers, and civic organizations held a candlelight vigil yesterday while designating December 20 as a day against excessive violence by the police. They demanded an official apology by President Roh Moo-hyun and the firing of the head of the police agency over the death of Hong Deok-pyo, who died while undergoing treatment for neck wounds he suffered during a violent street rally last month. It’s regrettable that his death was caused by the excessive use of force by police. That Mr. Hong is a small time farmer with two sons and two daughters makes this an even sadder story.
Let me get this straight, these your riot police draftees doing their mandatory service for their country are supposed to stand there and get the crap beaten out of them by out of control rioters wielding bamboo sticks, metal pipes, and motlov cocktails?
I got to give the Joong Ang Ilbo some credit though because they have publically come out and condemned the protesters for their actions:
Violent protests happen because of a lack of determined action by the public authorities towards illegal protests. Even when clubs and bamboo sticks are used, fights between protesters and the police are just accepted. Thus the violence keeps escalating. There needs to be a determined will to deal sternly with violent protests. If necessary, tear gas should be used so that violent protests disappear.
These lawless protests are now crossing international borders. Exporting methods used in Seoul, 11 Koreans have been charged with engaging in violent protests by the authorities in Hong Kong. This shows how little law-abiding consciousness there is among Korean protesters. The protest culture, which uses violence as a means to express one’s will, should not be allowed anymore. To turn a blind eye towards violence only results in more violent protests. Peaceful protests should be encouraged to ensure such unhappy incidents become a thing of the past.
Now how come no one was coming out and condemning the rioters that were bashing in the heads of riot police outside of Camp Humphreys, Braveheart style this summer? The condemnation of these protesters has come to little to late.
The fact that Korean professors are indoctrinating their students with this garbage is not surprising considering the anti-Americanism and pro-communism stances they teach as well:
At the start of his course, Prof. Lee Hee-su of Hanyang University’s Dept. of Cultural Anthropology, one of the best known Islam specialists in Korea, asks his students to write down what comes to mind when they hear the words “Islam†and “Iran.†About 70 percent of the Iran associations are negatively charged, including “axis of evil,†terrorists, revolution, Khomeini and oppression of women. Prof. Lee says he does not understand his students’ and many Koreans’ bias given that Iran has never done Korea any harm and has if anything been on an “axis of good†where Korea is concerned.
Where do I start on this one? First of all, what did Iran do during the Korean War and it’s aftermath for Korea? Nothing. One of the world’s poorest countries, Ethiopia has done more for Korea’s freedom than Iran ever has with Ethiopia’s deployment of thousands of soldiers during the Korean War.
Secondly, Iran is the world’s biggest supporter of terrorism. How many Koreans have died in terrorist attacks over the years? I know some were killed during 9/11 for example and the Korean contractor in Iraq was beheaded by Zarqawi’s Al Qaida in Iraq terrorist group which Zarqawi has strong ties with Iran. Than Iran is one of the biggest importers of North Korean No Dong Missiles providing large sums of money back to the North Korean military to allow them to continue to threaten South Korea with.
You have also Iran’s nuclear ambitions. How does a nuclearized Iran serve Korea’s interests? It will only encourage North Korea to build more nukes plus if Iran does build nuclear weapons it will probably cause yet another war in the Middle East that will in turn create more instability and higher oil prices harming Korea’s export driven economy.
Where do I begin on the oppression of women? According to the professor the oppression of women is no big deal:
They also agree that polygamy and the oppression of women in Islamic countries have been exaggerated, while terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. The so-called “honor killings†where male relatives kill women and girls they believe guilty of sexual transgression are a chronic problem in the Middle East and far beyond and have no basis in Islam.
This guy is obviously an idiot because anyone that has been to the Middle East especially Saudi Arabia and Iraq can tell you women are treated like property. If the professor thinks that the fact that women are treated equal to dogs is an exaggeration than so be it.
This is just another example of how intellectually bankrupt the Korean educational establishment is. Than again we should not be surprised by their embrace of Iran considering their adoration of Kim Jong Il whose human rights violations and oppression of his people make Iran’s own fault pale in comparison.
