Category: Uncategorized

The voting for the new parliament that will remain in power in Iraq for 4 years has begun. These are not transitional but permanent seats for the next 4 years so even the Sunnis are expected to turn out and vote heavily in this election. This quote here from a 77 year old Iraqi grandma has got to be the quote of this election:

“ANYONE WHO DOESN’T APPRECIATE WHAT AMERICANS HAVE DONE — WHAT PRESIDENT BUSH HAS DONE — LET THEM GO TO HELL!”

I love it, but outside of Foxnews and talk radio I don’t expect this to get any air time because there are more important people like Howard Dean to replay over and over again on TV saying the US can’t win the war despite continuing evidence to the contrary, but still I love the quote.

One of my favorite reporter/bloggers from Iraq, Michael Yon has been nominated for TIME magazine’s Photo of the Year. The story behind the picture is tragic and is definitely a representation of the evil the US is fighting in Iraq. Michael Yon sums it up best in his own words:

It was an instant of clarity in a blur of chaos that, for many of us, frames and defines the nature of this war. Any US soldier who has ever served in combat can probably give countless examples of moments like this. I just happened to be on the scene that day when a terrorist who had been trailing a Deuce Four patrol in a car packed with explosives waited until a crowd of children had gathered around the soldiers and selected that moment to drive into the crowd and detonate. Although little remained of him to be shown in this frame, the image somehow still reveals the true nature of our enemy in this war.

You can read Michael’s dispatch describing what happened before and after this photo by clicking here.
You can vote for Michael Yon by clicking here. Just scroll through the pictures and then vote for the picture you like best. Currently Michael Yon’s photograph is ranked first with 67% of the vote. Let’s keep him there; vote now!

Hat Tip: One Free Korea

Via the Asiapundit, here are some pictures that may be a sign of a new China.

Here is a strange fact I just though of, with all my time in Korea I have yet to see a Korean lesbian in public that wasn’t a drinky girl. Does Korea have a lesbian shortage?

The Korean government has chosen a European firm to develop a new helicopter for the ROK military. The ROK Army is in need of new helicopters because their military is still using the old but reliable Vietnam era Huey helicopters. The European firm was chosen according to the article because they met the required specifications:

The decision is a fresh departure from practice that has seen the U.S. enjoy a de-facto monopoly in Korean defense procurement, with sources saying the ministry did not take political factors like Korea’s long-standing alliance with the U.S. into consideration. A committee member said only Eurocopter’s proposal met its standards.

Looking at the concept picture of the helicopter it looks like the offspring of if a US Blackhawk and a Russian Hoplite had a one night stand. IMHO I would feel more comfortable with a combat proven Blackhawk than a European copter that has yet to be built.

According to this report via the Katolic Shinja, 90% of Koreans support torture:

The majority of Americans believe that the use of torture is justified for terrorism suspects, according to an Associate Press poll. The poll was taken in a number of different countries, showing a large gap in values between Americans and some European countries.

61 percent of Americans, 90 percent of South Koreans, and over 50 percent of citizens from France and Britain support the use of torture. On the other hand, the majority of people from Spain and Italy said that there were no circumstances that would justify such acts. Despite the support of torture, the majority of citizens in every country except the US said they are against secretly detaining prisoners for interrogation. About two thirds of Americans are in favor of that practice.

Using the liberals’ definition of torture wouldn’t soldiers in the ROK Army be considered to be tortured every day? Heck I have seen employees get slapped around here and if that employee got slapped around that way at GITMO it would be considered torture and on the front page of the NY Times. For the record I’m for roughing people up if it means saving US lives. I’m not for ripping out fingernails or hanging people up side down but if pushing someone around during interogation, intimidating them, making them listen to rap music all night, gets someone to talk then lets do it. Some how I don’t think giving someone a Koran, cable television, and a plate of cookies and milk will do much to get them to talk or save US lives.

Here is an article in the Korea Times that lists all the good things Korea is doing in the international community. I can’t argue that Korea is not doing good things internationally because they are, but I have to wonder about this passage here concerning refugees:

Our office, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN refugee agency mandated to lead and coordinate international actions to protect refugees and provide emergency assistance worldwide, will receive $1.5 million US in 2006 from the Korean government, an increase of 35 percent from 2005. The contribution is expected to be increased further. Although Korea, as the 11th largest economy in the world, has belatedly taken long delayed action to increase its fair contribution, the actions themselves deserve much credit.

He must mean all refugees that are not North Korean because it is well known how little South Korea does to protect North Korean refugees in China and the Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has actually spoken out against the North Korean refugees. So that passage rings very hollow to me. Here is another statement that got me thinking:

Now is time for Koreans to do more for the world and to be proud as Koreans.

Should Korea do more in the world just so people can feel proud to be Koreans? How about just doing more to simply help people even North Korean refugees?

Why isn’t good news like this played repeatedly over the airwaves instead of car bombings?:

Four years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghans express both vast support for the changes that have shaken their country and remarkable optimism for the future, despite the deep challenges they face in economic opportunity, security and basic services alike.

Progress fuels these views: Despite the country’s continued problems, 85 percent of Afghans say living conditions there are better now than they were under the Taliban. Eighty percent cite improved freedom to express political views. And 75 percent say their security from crime and violence has improved as well. After decades of oppression and war, many Afghans see a better life.

This is amazing progress in Afghanistan yet no one knows about it. Yet everyone knows about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe the fact that these Al Qaida terrorists are sitting in these secret CIA prisons is the reason why the people of Afghanistan have such a positive outlook of their own future and the United States effort to give them this future?

Here is another Japan Finder for you. I promise next week I will have a real Korea Finder for you. For this week, however you will just have to make do with determining where this famous Japanese bridge is located.

Anti-American protesters gathered this weekend at the Pyoengtaek Train Station to protest the US military’s base expansion at nearby Camp Humphreys:

About 4,500 demonstrators, according to police estimates, rallied outside the Pyeongtaek train station to protest the American plan to move forces to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek. A group called The Pan-Korean National Task Force Against Expansion of U.S. Bases in Pyeongtaek organized the protest.

The Korean National Police and Camp Humphreys officials had braced for possible large-scale violence Sunday, but the task force stuck with its previously stated plan of holding a peaceful protest outside the train station and the Pyeongtaek city hall.

Anti-American protests in Korea are nothing new because it is always the same people protesting; the pro-North Koreans, leftists, progressives, anti-anything-American, the communists, etc. Whatever term you want to define them with it is still the same usual suspects who come into town and cause problems for the local citizens with anti-American antics. However, something different has happened once again to counter these protesters; the pro-American forces have mobilized to counter them:

In a show of support for the U.S. military Sunday, the Korean Veterans Association and Songtan Chamber of Commerce held a rally that drew a crowd police estimated at about 4,000 outside the main gate of Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek’s Songtan section.

The veterans urged support for the U.S. military’s presence on the peninsula and its planned relocation of forces to Humphreys. They also denounced the anti-American activist movement in South Korea, which they said imperiled their country’s security.

4,000 pro-American protesters outside of the Osan gate is even more pro-American activists than what showed up at the September MacArthur Statue protest in Inchon. I think a case can be made that the pro-American activists are getting better organized and picking up speed to retaliate against the anti-American protesters. Some of the quotes from the activists are words I have heard before from Korean citizens:

“Most of Korean people are with you,” said Sung Ho-kyoung, 70, a resident of Anyang City who said he witnessed North Korean atrocities as a teenager during the Korean War of 1950-53.

“Let your people know that,” he told the reporter. “And don’t let your government … push to withdraw your troops from Korea. Let your people know that. Please!”

“We need the American troops … because we must keep the peace and freedom [on the] Korean Peninsula,” said Lee Seung-ro, 55, of Seoul.

K.C. Lee, president of the Songtan Chamber of Commerce, said during remarks from a speaker’s platform that the community welcomes the U.S. military’s move to Pyeongtaek.

“My dear American friends, we want you to be here,” Lee said in Korean and in English.

It may seem like a small thing, but it does feel good to hear that at least some people appreciate what we are doing in Korea.

Some Yongsan soldiers are doing some great work helping out Amerasian children in Itaewon:

Park Kuk-wha felt good on Saturday, despite being tired from studying for a recent final exam at school.

The plan worked. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea recently sponsored job training for eight mothers, who now have full-time jobs as hair stylists and masseuses. At random times during the year, soldiers or contractors with USFK came forward to donate money and clothes to the children. And on one Sunday during a church service on Yongsan Garrison, a special collection was held for the Pearl S. Buck children.

The good these soldiers and also contractors are doing for these children discarded by Korean society is really significant. The Amerasian children are shunned by Korean society which causes them to have limited ability to attend good universities and well paying jobs. This in turn often causes them to stay and find work in ville areas like Itaewon where they can fit in and find employment.

The positive reinforcement and financial aid will go a long ways to improving the lives for these children and hopefully giving them a better future.