The Koreas
–  If you ever wondered what you are supposed to snack on while drinking beer or soju, well now you have your answer. 
–  Thinking of smuggling some dope into Korea? Well you might want to read this then.
–  Expat Jane has a Darwin Award nominee from Gyeongju.
–  The feetman has some good taste.
–  Is it possible that Bae Yong-joon has made a good drama series? 
–  Is it just me or is Kim Yun-jin starting to show her age?
–  Speaking of showing their age. 
–  Hyundai ads getting a little racy.

Japan
– Was Buddhism and not nationalism the driving force behind Imperial Japan?
–  English teachers not getting paid, where have I heard this before?
–  And where have I seen this before?
–  The war over "The Sea that Cannot Be Named" has now involved fighting over friendship memorials. 
–  If you have been to Shinjuku before this is pretty cool.
–  A Japanese bloggers first impressions from visiting Korea for the first time. 

China
–  If you use the internet in China you may find yourself coming face to face with China’s online virtual cops.
–  Nude foreigners in Chinese palace pissing off the locals.
–  It looks like US consumers are not primarily blaming the Chinese for the tainted goods scandal.

Milblogs
–  I can’t believe Hillary Clinton appointed Sandy Berger as her national security advisor.  Yes the Sandy Berger convicted of stealing and destroying documents from the National Archives.
–  Prominent milbloggers had their first press conference with the president.  Amazing how times are changing.
–  I have to agree that this quote sums up the media quite well.
–  Make sure to read Michael Yon’s latest, Hunting Al Qaida Part 1 of 3.

Forward Deployed
–  Exposing Gareth Porter’s Slurs of General Petraeus
–  NCOs from NY Times Op-Ed Die in Vehicle Accident
–  Sheik Sattar Killed in Iraq
–  Vietnam War Memorial Vandalized
–  The Effort to Destroy General Petraeus

Since trying to slur General Petraeus with misrepresented “facts” has proven to be a disaster for the left, what have they decided to do now to take him down?  Well make stuff up of course:

And you though the Moveon.Org ad was something.  You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.  There is no hole so deep that the modern left considers it unnecessary to keep digging.  In other words, the demonization of David Petraeus has just begun.

The lefties at the Daily Kos and Think Progress are both giving a lot of play to the following quote that Admiral William Fallon allegedly (much more on that in a bit) made about his underling David Petraeus during their first meeting in Baghdad last March.  The Daily Kos and Think Progress report Fallon called Petraeus “an ass-kissing little chicken-sh*t.”

I know what you’re thinking.  For reputable outfits like the Daily Kos and Think Progress to report such an incendiary comment, the remark must be impeccably sourced.  Well…

The original report of the comment, the scoop if you will, came in something called the “Inter Press Service News Agency,” or “IPS” as the organization bills itself.  What?  You’ve never heard of this IPS and find yourself curious about who and what it is?  IPS describes itself this way on its website: “IPS, civil society’s leading news agency, is an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath. Another communication is possible.”  I don’t know what any of that means either, but I figure I’d share it with you and put it our there for deconstruction. [Hugh Hewitt]

The General Fallon quote is making its way across the leftistsphere with no challenge to it authenticity led by the Daily Kos and Think Progress.  However, when General Fallon was asked to comment on this it was determined it was totally untrue.  Not surprising considering the IPS article claims they got the quote from “Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting”.  IPS could not even get an anonymous quote from someone who was at the meeting and instead rely on someone who claimed to have read a report of the meeting.  Also keep in mind I have never seen minutes of a meeting ever taken where the recorder would write such a quote as General Fallon reportedly said.

So who is the person that wrote the IPS article you may wonder?  Well none other than an anti-war, leftist ideologue Gareth Porter.  Never heard of him before?  Well you wouldn’t because his views are so left wing no respectable media outlet will touch him, thus that is why he writes for IPS and blogs for the Huffington Post, and other left wing sites.  This is a guy who is a communist apologizer and even and apologist for the Khmer Rouge before the evidence of their killings became insurmountable.

So basically what the Daily Kos and his like minded leftists want the public to believe is the word of a guy who is a communist apologist who denied the existence of the Killing Fields of Cambodia.  How come Kos and company never mentioned that before quoting him?

Courtesy of Korea Beat comes news that the old MRE scam is alive and well in 2ID:

On the 14th the Gyeongnam police department’s foreign affairs division has applied for an arrest warrant for a Mr. Park (43) on suspicion of selling US military rations on the internet without a license.  According to the police, since March of last year Park is suspected of selling 100 boxes, worth W50,000,000, of emergency rations from the 2nd Infantry Division stationed in Dongducheon to at least 80 people through the internet.

The police say the rations sold by Park were obtained from a person working in the US military and that the investigation is continuing. [Joong Ang Ilbo]

The scam used to be much worse a few years ago but crackdowns on the MRE scam beginning in the US where soldiers were convicted of selling MREs over E-Bay has improved accountability of MREs in the mility.  However, as this shows some MRE scams are still going on.  Some may wonder why in the world someone would want to buy MREs in Korea?  The MREs get sold in the marketplaces to primarily fishermen as well as some campers who want non-perishable food.  

The corruption in the Joong Ang Ilbo article probably involves someone working in one of the Camp Casey dining facilities that issue MREs.  It used to be easy to get MREs from the dining facility but in recent years accountability of the MREs has greatly improved but as this shows it has not improved enough. 

Another way the blackmarket gets MREs is when units go to the field each battalion has an "ajumma tent" assigned to them that sell Korean food to the soldiers.  This probably still goes on secretly because soldiers are not supposed to do this, but before soldiers could give ajumma an MRE for a cheesy ramyon meal.  That cheesy ramyon probably cost ajumma a dollar while she can sell the MRE she gained for five dollars.  Ajumma makes huge profits from the MREs, but like I said before this is not supposed to be going on anymore. 

The Asahi Shimbun has an interesting article today about the sharp rise of suicides in Korea:

In South Korea, where the East Asian financial crisis of 1997 caused a collapse in the lifelong employment system, a breakdown in traditional family bonds and a subsequent divergence between rich and poor, suicide has been rising inexorably.

Now another factor is contributing to the malaise: The all-pervasive reach of the Internet has given people ready access to information about how to kill themselves, and made it easy to find like-minded people to share in the experience.

Though the government and citizens groups have made a concerted effort to address the problem, they appear to be fighting a losing battle. […]

According to the Korea National Statistical Office, the number of suicide victims climbed to about 12,000 in 2005–2.5 times more than 10 years before. The figure equates to 24.7 suicide victims per 100,000 persons.

In Japan, there were 25.5 suicide victims per 100,000 people. However, an official of the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “Given the sharp rise (in suicides) in recent years, there is a possibility that the suicide rate per 100,000 persons has already surpassed that of Japan.” [Takeshi Kamiya, Asahi Shimbun]

Something else I found interesting in the article that in Seoul if you can believe this has only seven suicide counselors. Yes seven, for a city with a population of nearly 12 million and a sharply rising suicide rate.

Another day, another returned US beef shipment:

South Korea found banned bones in a U.S. beef shipment for third time this month and plans to send the entire shipment back to the United States, an official said Wednesday.

South Korea’s Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said it found rib bones earlier in the day in one box of a 16.15-tonne shipment that arrived in South Korea on Aug. 5, the ministry official said. He asked not to be named, citing the agency’s policy. [Kim Kwang-tae, C-News]

The Koreans have picked a good time to keep returning beef shipments because our US politicians are all consumed with General Petraeus’ report to Congress and are not likely to notice all the beef shipments being turned around from Korea. 

Two NCOs who signed an opinion article in the NY Times last month have unfortunately died in a tragic vehicle accident:

Two U.S. soldiers whose signatures appeared on an op-ed piece in The New York Times critical of the war in Iraq were among seven Americans killed in a truck accident outside of Baghdad, family members said Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Yance Gray and Sgt. Omar Mora were members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Gray, Mora and five other soldiers died Monday when their truck overturned near the Iraqi capital, U.S. officials said.

Gray and Mora were among seven soldiers, mostly sergeants, who wrote the op-ed piece that appeared in the Times on August 19. It called the prospects of U.S. success "far-fetched" and said the progress being reported was being "offset by failures elsewhere." [CNN]

Though I fully debunked their article that was used as a hit piece to discredit General Petraeus before he testified, I am saddened that such men who had sacrificed much by serving for an extended period of time and in difficult circumstances in Iraq, would die in a senseless traffic accident.  My thoughts go out to their friends and family along with the friends and family of the other soldiers who died in the accident.  

Of course the commenters from the left are claiming the military intentionally killed them.  Why am I not surprised.

UPDATE: Al Qaida has taken responsibility for killing Sheik Sattar.   This assassination will hasten the end of Al Qaida in Iraq.  Any Sunni tribe that was on the fence before will assuredly join the awakening movement now.

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Most American have never heard of Sheik Sattar but there is few people more important in Iraq than Sheik Sattar who founded the Anbar Awakening movement. He has been the target of assassination attempts before and today the assassins were successful:

Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed by a roadside bomb planted near the tribal leader’s home in Ramadi, Anbar’s provincial capital, said Col. Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police …

“It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work,” said Sheik Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abu Risha’s group. “Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us.” He said the bombing took place at 3:30 p.m. as Abu Risha was returning home.

A Ramadi police officer said Abu Risha had received a group of poor people at his home earlier in the day, as a gesture of charity marking the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said authorities believed the bomb was planted by one of the visitors.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that after the first blast that killed Abu Risha, a car bomb exploded nearby. “The car bomb had been rigged just in case the roadside bomb missed his convoy,” Khalaf said. There were no casualties from the car bomb, he added. [Robert Reid, AP]

This is a huge blow and the jury is still out on who ordered the killing. Depending on whether it was Al Qaida or a Shia militia who killed Sattar, will go a long ways to determining if reconciliation between Iraq’s Sunnis and Shias will ever be possible. No one has taken responsibility yet for the killing but the only people that would want Sattar dead more than Al Qaida is Iran. I would not put it past the Iranians sanctioning one of their Mahdi Army surrogates to kill Sheik Sattar. If proven a Shia militia did this, this could turn into the Sunni equivalent of what the Samarra Mosque Bombing was to the Shiites last year. In such a scenario the only winners will be the Iranians.

You can read more over at the The Long War Journal, Captain’s Journal, and On Point.

A couple of rape cases that occurred months ago have now gone to trial.  Notice the difference in sentences between the two crimes.  The first involves a soldier from Camp Carroll that was tried in Korean court:

A U.S. soldier was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for raping a South Korean teenager.

The 8th U.S. Army identified him as Sgt. Singinn A. Lawson, a member of 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based at Camp Carroll.

Lawson had been held in pre-trial confinement in the Daegu Detention Facility since June 29, according to 8th Army officials.

Daegu District Court officials said the teen was walking home in October 2006, when the soldier chased her down, beat and raped her. They refused to release her age, but other South Korean media reported she was 19. [Stars & Stripes]

The second case was tried in US military court:

A 6th Ordnance Battalion soldier was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for raping a fellow soldier in January.

An all-male general court-martial panel also sentenced Spc. Darnell Gibson to a dishonorable discharge, reduction to the lowest rank of E-1 and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

The panel deliberated for about three hours Wednesday night before finding Gibson guilty of rape and two specifications of indecent language. They found him not guilty of dereliction of duty and falsifying an official statement in connection with the rape. […]

The woman testified she and Gibson went to three off-base bars to drink, dance and play pool that evening. According to court testimony, Gibson became so drunk he had to be carried back to Camp Carroll by the victim and one of his friends. Military police gave the three a ride back to the barracks because Gibson was too drunk to walk, according to testimony.

The woman testified she was worried that Gibson would choke on his own vomit if left alone, so she went to his room to check on him. Gibson invited her to watch a movie and she testified she either passed out or fell asleep on his bed.

She told the court that she awoke to Gibson raping her. She said he stopped and said, “I’m going to go get some of my boys.” [Stars & Stripes]

The 35th ADA soldier hunted down the Korean woman beat her and raped her and showed no remorse for his crime and received less time than the soldier who got involved in the typical drunken barracks rape.  This is a perfect example of the differences in justice in regards to rape in Korea.  At least the soldier in the Korean court case received a three year sentence, when Koreans rape foreigners and female soldiers they are usually allowed to go free. 

This story seems to be getting some legs with the Washington Post picking up on the seriousness of this allegation:

North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic satellite imagery that led some U.S. officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons.

The new information, particularly images received in the past 30 days, has been restricted to a few senior officials under the instructions of national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, leaving many in the intelligence community unaware of it or uncertain of its significance, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Some cautioned that initial reports of suspicious activity are frequently reevaluated over time and were skeptical that North Korea and Syria, which have cooperated on missile technology, would have a joint venture in the nuclear arena. [Glenn Kessler, Washington Post]

This article has added more details, but I still haven’t seen anything that concretely proves the allegations.  If these allegations are true this would be the most serious incident between the US and North Korea ever.  The US government will not look kindly at nuclear proliferation.  Could North Korea really be this desperate or stupid?  I can’t wait to hear what excuses the South Korean government will make for Kim Jong-il if true. With that said I still remain skeptical. 

Updated postings over at One Free Korea and DPRK Studies as well.

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It looks like North Korea may be having a going out of business sale:

After days of silence from the Israeli government, American officials confirmed Tuesday that Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes inside Syria last week, the first such attack since 2003.

A Defense Department official said Israeli jets had struck at least one target in northeastern Syria last Thursday, but the official said it was still unclear exactly what the jets hit and the extent of the bombing damage. […]

One Bush administration official said Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea. The administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria.

“The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left,” the official said. He said it was unclear whether the Israeli strike had produced any evidence that might validate that belief.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a military action by another government. [Mark Mazzetti & Helene Cooper, New York Times] (HT: bohemian)

I have speculated before that North Korea would possibly give up its nuclear program for the right price, which is what we may now be seeing the beginning of, but I would be shocked if they gave up the handful of nuclear weapons they currently possess for a variety of reasons I have listed before. 

With that said I do have a hard time believing that Syria would be willing to buy nuclear equipment from North Korea and expect Israel to overlook it.  I think it is more likely conventional military weapons being sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon that was bombed.  You know the same weapons smuggling the UN sent forces into Lebanon to supposedly stop but have never bothered to do anything about it.  Either this report is false or Syria has been really emboldened by Hezbollah’s success in last years war. 

You can read more over at DPRK Studies and K.U. Studies as well.

No matter what your feelings about the Iraq War is, I would hope everyone would agree that this is absolutely disgraceful.