There has been few developments since the release of the two female hostages as the crisis enters its 36th day. The only big changes has been how this crisis is receiving little media attention as the negotiations drag on. The biggest recent news was the statements made to the media by the two released hostages calling for the release of the remaining hostages:
UPDATE: Captain’s Journal has more on the electricity issue in Iraq.
___________________________________
The Stars and Stripes has an excellent article today explaining in detail the electricity situation in Iraq. Though security has greatly improved Iraqis are not satisfied with just that, they want electricity as well. According to the article electricity is currently at 4,230 megawatts across the country which is near the pre-war level of 4,500 megawatts. However, during the Saddam Hussein regime Baghdad was guaranteed power at the expense of areas outside of the city, particularly Shiite areas. There are parts of Iraq that have power now that never had power during the time of Saddam.
Something the article did not mention was the increased availability of electrical goods with the opening of the economy that has put additional strain on the power grid. After the US invasion it was incredible to see the number of trucks filled with electrical goods flowing down the highway from Turkey.
The article did mention that the US refurbished certain power plants in Iraq and then turned them over to the Iraqi government where due to incompetence they once again were in disrepair and not operating at peak efficiency. Most troubling is the report that Shiite militias are controlling the power plants:
Armed militias have taken control of many of the switching stations that regulate the flow of electricity throughout the country, an Iraqi official said Wednesday.
At a news briefing with U.S. military officials, electricity minister Karim Wahid said the armed groups have effectively been able to keep certain areas of Iraq without electrical power.
Wahid’s remarks were first reported by The New York Times on Thursday.
“The development adds to existing electricity problems in Baghdad, which has been struggling to provide power for more than a few hours a day because insurgents regularly blow up the towers that carry power lines into the city,” the Times reported.
“Officials have been trying to control the flow of electricity from huge power plants in the south, north and west by calling local officials there and ordering them to physically flip switches. But the officials refuse to follow those orders when the armed groups threaten their lives, [Wahid] said, and the often isolated stations are abandoned at night and easily manipulated by whatever group controls the area.” [Stars & Stripes]
This is definitely troublesome and just another reason why I expect a confrontation with the Shiite militias once Al Qaida in Iraq is destroyed. The article did not specify which militia was controlling what power plants, but I highly suspect the Mahdi Army since that would be keeping in line with its Hezbollah roots of controlling public services thus undermining the national government and making them into a proxy government to the people. The Mahdi Army already controls many hospitals and food distribution centers in Iraq, thus concluding they are controlling power plants as well is not much of a stretch.
This solution to the problem being implemented by the 3-82 Field Artillery Regiment in Baghdad I think is a great idea:
The men of the field artillery regiment aren’t swayed by outside issues. They want to help out residents in their own area of operation, one megawatt at a time.
According to 1st Lt. Jesse Wood, a civil military operations officer, plans to install a one- megawatt generator are already in the works, paid for by the artillery unit’s funds.
“We’re trying to figure out how and where to run the cables for it right now,” Wood said. “It could cover 300 to 350 households once it’s up.”
Installing these generators in every neighborhood would increase the electrical output but would also give the neighborhood a stake in protecting their own electrical infrastructure from insurgent attacks while simultaneously decreasing the power the militias currently have by controlling the large power plants. However, to make the small community generator idea feasible a reliable method of bringing fuel into the neighborhoods would need to be established which the militias will probably try and influence.
The whole issue over electricity is probably the country’s second most important issue behind improving security. I think this Michael Totten interview of an Iraqi interpreter sums up the importance of this issue to average Iraqis quite well:
If you give average Iraqis electricity right now it will be enough. This is the most important thing. Give them power for seven days in a row and there will be no fights.
After the US came and Saddam fell they earned 3 dollars a month. Now they earn between 100 and 700 dollars a month.
Giving them electricity would reduce violence. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself what would happen to this Army base if the power was cut off forever and the soldiers had to spend the rest of their lives in Iraq. Do think think these soldiers would still behave normally?
Iraqis are paid to set up IEDs. They do it so they can buy gas for their generator and cool off their house or leave the country. Their hands do this, not their minds.
TV is the most interesting thing to Iraqis. They learn everything from the TV. Right now they only have one hour of electricity every day. Do you know what they watch? Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera pushes them to fight. If they got TV the whole day they would watch many things. Their minds would be influenced by something other than terrorist propaganda.
Right now they have no electricity. They have no dreams. Nothing. And Saddam messed with their minds. For more than 30 years he poisoned their minds.
You can’t understand Iraq because you can’t get inside their mind. When you get inside their mind…it is a crazy mind. [Michael Totten]
Who knows Iraqi better than another Iraqi thus I take what this man as saying as being very true. General Petraeus’ counter-insurgency strategy is clear, hold, and build. Hopefully in the areas of Iraq that are in the build stage electricity is priority number one.
I have decided to try something new here at the ROK Drop and offer a story, joke, and a brain teaser for the weekend as well as one to start the week with.
Story for the weekend:
“The Real Meaning Of Peace” Author Unknown
“There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest – in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
Humour
It goes without saying that you should never have more children than you have car windows.” – Erma Bombeck
Brain Teaser:
After Barry dropped the live grenade the five soldiers charged out of the bunker before it could go off. Barry was not the first out. Andy was neither first nor last. Colin pushed out immediately behind Barry. Dave wasn’t second out. Ernie was two men behind Dave. In what order did the men race from the bunker?
Answer Below
Note: This is part two of a two part series. Part one can be read here.
The tour of Changdeokgung Palace had so far covered the entrance gate, the royal throne room, the King’s office, the royal living quarters, and the King’s garage.
View looking towards the royal throne from near the King’s garage.
From the King’s garage the tour group then moved towards the Nakseonjae area of the palace:
The Nakseonjae area of the palace is easily identifiable because of its brown and white coloring:
This coloring is used because these buildings are not considered royal buildings. Only the buildings designated for royalty are painted with bright and vibrant colors. Nakseonjae was built by King Heonjong in 1847 for his concubine Kim Gyeongbin. It stands to reason that King Heonjong must not have been to infatuated with his wife considering he had this entire complex built for a concubine. Even the name Nakseonjae tends to indicate that the King preferred his concubine more than his wife because Nakseonjae literally means the “Mansion of Joy and Goodness”. This probably did not go over to well with his wife which might explain why the King died at age 22 only two years later in 1849.
Nakseonjae had been closed off to the public for decades because it had been used as the residence for the last remaining Korean princesses until 1989 when Princess Deokhye, the youngest daughter of King Gojang, the 26th king of the Joseon Dynasty passed away in 1989. Even after her death Nakseonjae didn’t open to the public until 2006:
I found the colors and design of Nakseonjae to be even better than the royal buildings which in my opinion are too lavish compared to the more naturally eye pleasing colors of Nakseonjae. The inside of the building is all in traditional Korean design:
After visiting Nakseonjae I can understand why the last remaining Korean princess chose to live there until he final days. It is a beautiful home fit for a princess.
From Nakseonjae the tour then moved on to the Biwon or Secret Garden area of the palace. The Secret Garden is where Chosun Dynasty Royalty came to relax, study, and write poems. The most notable feature of the garden is the beautiful lotus pond surrounded with little pavilions and a rock island in the middle of it:
The rock island is supposed to be symbolic of a Taoist hermit. It was easy to imagine a Chosun King sitting on this pavilion overlooking the pond writing poetry:
On the far side of the pond is the Juhamnu royal library:
Juhamnu literally means to “Gather the Universe” and that is what the library tried to do on the first floor by gathering tens of thousands of books and manuscripts. The second floor of the library served as a reading room.
On another side of the lotus pond is a building known as Yeonghwadang:
The Korean government operated a examination system known as Gwageojedo in Korean that determined if people were qualified or not to hold various government offices. The exam was open to the Yangban class too take and required years diligent study to pass. Yeonghwadang is where the government officials sat to administer the test, known as a Jeonsi, to those seeking to pass it. This historic precedent for the importance of education helps explains the drive by Korean parents to this day to ensure their children are properly educated.
From the lotus pond the tour continued to follow a path deeper into the Secret Garden. Along the path was a number of these beautifully colored trees:
Even though it was summer time the trees still had this fantastic colors. These trees leaves remain this color all year long until it sheds its leaves in the winter. Along the trail I also noticed some other random buildings. These buildings housed people that worked in the palace and thus were only allowed to have their houses painted in peasant colors:
The trail continued and we eventually passed underneath a gate that legend claims gives those who pass it everlasting life:
However, the tour guide said it does not work very well because the average age of a Korean King at the time of his death was 38 years old. Pass the gate was more of the brightly colored trees:
The brightly colored trees surrounded another little lotus pond known as Aeryeonji:
Once again it was easy to imagine a Chosun King sitting on this pavilion drinking tea and writing poetry. The path continued pass the lotus pond and into the thickly forested area of the Secret Garden:
Some of the trees in the Secret Garden are hundreds of years old. For example this Chinese juniper is 750 years old:
The tree was planted because Chinese juniper wood was used as incense for royal ancestral rituals. The tour ends shortly after passing the Chinese juniper tree. Overall, I highly recommend a visit the palace, but make sure you budget enough time because the tour takes about 2.5 hours and some of the people in the tour group were quite surprised by its length. Also there is a lot of walking which also took its toll on some people in the group that were older or out of shape. Despite this the palace is still a worthy day trip in Seoul in order to learn little bit about Korean history and architecture plus having a chance to get some fresh air in the heavily forested Secret Garden, which is not something that easy to do in downtown Seoul.
The Korean Defense Ministry is obviously furious at the anti-Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s comments about redrawing the Northern Limit Line with North Korea:
“In light of the upcoming inter-Korean summit, it is not desirable that the Defense Ministry and Unification Ministry should show signs of friction,” said Kim Hyung-gi, the Defense Ministry’s spokesman, yesterday. “The debate [on the sea border] should stop.”
There has been tension between the two ministries ever since Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s recent comment that the Northern Limit Line, the border drawn at the end of the Korean War to separate the two countries in the Yellow Sea, is not considered “territory.”
Lee also said the South needed to “reconsider” the reason that a 2002 sea battle was fought after a North Korean patrol boat crossed the line into South Korean waters.
Sources said that Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo on Tuesday told the National Assembly’s Defense Committee that the military would “not give up the Northern Limit Line.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This is what the Unification Ministry said in response:
Hong Ik-pyo, a policy adviser to the unification minister, said yesterday that he “could not agree that even a slight change in the Northern Limit Line would cause a serious threat to national security.”
He posted his comments on a message board of the Government Information Agency, arguing that there was nothing wrong with discussing the matter with the North. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This is how the Defense Ministry responded after this statement:
A senior Defense Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military is outraged. “Granted, he [the unification minister] is a civilian and may not know the significance of what he said from a military standpoint. Still, it’s something he should not have said. It was unacceptable.”
Kim Dong-jin, a defense minister in the late 90s and a member of the Korean Retired Generals and Admirals Association, didn’t hide his disgust. “I am speechless. What he said is not even worth commenting on,” said Kim. “It’s just not worth it.”
The issue is growing into a major talking point in political circles. GNP lawmaker Chung Hyung-kun argued yesterday that the summit “was delayed because they failed to agree on the NLL issue as an agenda in the talks, not because of severe flood damage.” The party’s spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said yesterday, “Concession to North Korea over the NLL is tantamount to an act of treachery, like giving away Dokdo to Japan.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
I would love to hear if the Unification Ministry would be willing to give Dokdo to North Korea if they demanded it. That would solve the whole stupid Dokdo controversy at least.
It is unbelievable that the Unification Ministry is willing to give up sovereign Korean territory that ROK military personnel have lost their lives defending and the Unification Ministry didn’t even bother consulting the military about what the national security consequences of such actions would be. Than again these are the same people who treat these dead ROK military personnel as if they are criminals for defending their home land. If the Unification Ministry pushes on with changing the NLL, USFK may need to get involved because the DMZ and the NLL were established by the UN at the conclusion of the Korean War. It will be interesting to see if USFK will be willing to approve of such a change that would have national security consequences on the peninsula, especially when the ROK military does not agree with it.
The Chosun is wondering if Korea is raising an army of beauty queens:
Korea’s servicemen are changing. The rough skin, sun-burnt faces and stubble-length hair that once were the trademarks of typical army men have gone for the new generation. Some now rival women in the use of cosmetics, and some even order wigs to disguise their short hair for the vacation. And some buy dietary supplements in an attempt to create the perfect body.
Han (21) is stationed in Gangwon Province. He spends an average of W110,000 (US$1=W944) on bath products and cosmetics. [Chosun Ilbo]
Guys like this would have to lean on their families for the extra money since the ROK soldiers get paid next to nothing for their service, which leads me to believe this is something more likely reserved for the more well off than your average Kim ROK soldier. A few of my KATUSAs were beauty queens, but the vast majority were not and this article is probably a bit overstated.
Seoul has a handful of palace complexes that are all a bit different, have played an important part in Korean history, and are definitely worth checking out. However, out of all the palaces in Seoul only one of them, Changdeok Palace has been designated a World Heritage Area by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The palace is located in northern Seoul across the street from a fellow UNESCO site the Jongmyo Shrine and to the east of Kyeongbok Palace. Changdeok Palace literally means “Palace of Prospering Virtue” and is easily recognizable when viewed from overhead because it is an island of green in the dense urban jungle of Seoul because of the thick foliage of trees that surrounds the palace.
In fact the green foliage and natural setting of Changdeok Palace played a major role in the justification UNESCO cited for including the palace as a World Heritage Area:
The Committee decided to inscribe this property on the basis of criteria (ii), (iii) and (iv), considering that the Ch’angdokkung Palace Compound is an outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design, exceptional for the way in which the buildings are integrated into and harmonized with the natural setting, adapting to the topography and retaining indigenous tree cover.
Besides the natural setting of the palace, UNESCO also cited the outstanding palace architecture as part of the reasoning for naming the palace a World Heritage Area. From the moment you arrive at the front gate of the palace it is easy to see why this is true:
The front gate of the palace is known as Tonhwamun and was first constructed in 1412, seven years after the main complex was constructed in 1405. The gate stood until it was destroyed during the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea in 1592. After the war it was rebuilt in 1607 and some how it has survived all the other subsequent wars on the Korean peninsula to become the oldest two story wooden gate in the entire country.
It is here at Tonhwamun that I bought my ticket for 3000 won to enter the palace. However, unlike other palaces in Seoul, this palace can only be entered as part of a guided tour in order to protect the historical and cultural treasures within the complex. There are tours every hour, but the only English language tours begin at 11:30, 13:30, & 15:30. I toured Changdeok Palace six years ago and found the then English language tour to be quite poor. I was pleasantly surprised this time around because the tour guide was actually quite good, though a bit robotic. A problem with the English language tours is that the limited number of them means the tour groups are quite large. This makes taking pictures and listening to the guide a bit difficult because of the sheer number of people you are surrounded by.
Once the tour began, the first historical structure that was presented was the Geumcheongyo Bridge, which was built in 1411 and is the oldest bridge still used in Seoul:
On the other side of the bridge is the gate that leads to the throne hall of the Korean King:
Changdeok Palace was built in 1405 as a secondary palace for the Korean Chosun Dynasty King with Kyeongbok Palace serving as the primary palace for the Korean royalty. During the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea, Kyeongbok Palace was destroyed and after the war it was not rebuilt and Changdeok Palace became the primary residence of the royal family.
The Chosun Dynasty King’s throne was located in Injeongjeon Hall:
The structure was originally constructed like most of the buildings in the palace in 1405, but was destroyed during the Hideyoshi invasion and rebuilt in 1607. The structure had to once again be reconstructed when it was destroyed by fire in 1803. The throne was rebuilt a year later and the current structure is now over 200 years old.
From this building the King was able to review his troops and governmental officials. The small stone tabulets on the ground are not gravestones, but markers that designated where the different governmental and military officials stood during reviews by the king.
Inside Injeongjeon Hall sits the Korean throne that had served as the seat of power for the Korean King for nearly 300 years:
The throne room is decorated with lavish artwork. The painting behind the throne represents the sun, the moon, and the five sacred mountains of Korea. The room is really incredible to look at with its highly detailed artwork and extragavant chandaliers. As impressive as this room is, the King actually did not use it all that often. Towards the back of this building the King had a smaller throne room the Seonjeongjeon that the King used to hold meetings with his ministers.
Outside of the building the roof is decorated with small and decorative statues of animals that represent an old Asian tale about a monkey king:
The buildings in the palace is filled with bright and colorful artwork. Here is how many of the corners of the roofs are decorated:
The sides of the roofs were painted in these patterns:
Even on lesser structures you could find beautiful, detailed artwork:
Even the doors are beautifully painted:
If you like bright and colorful artwork, Korean royal palaces are definitely the place to see it.
Adjacent to the buildings housing the King’s throne and meeting room is the buildings that housed the royal living quarters and office:
Huijeongdang is the building that served as the royal office. Huijeongdang has some impressive artwork on the sides of the roof:
What is interesting about the King’s office is the combination of eastern and western furnishings:
You can see the combination of western and eastern design in the construction of the building as well:
Huijeongdang was not only the King’s office but was also his living quarters. The queens living quarters, Daejojeon is located behind Huijeongdang:
The furnishings of the Queen’s residence were more traditionally Korean:
However, the royal bed is a mix of western and eastern origins:
The royal kitchen also had plenty of western influence as well:
The heating system though for the palace is purely the Korean ondol system. The ondol system is when hot coals are burned underneath the buildings in order to heat the floors. The smoke from this system is piped out of the building and channeled to these large decorative chimneys behind the buildings:
The ondol system is largely responsible for the Korean habbit of sitting and sleeping on floors.
Across from these royal buildings is the royal garage:
The royal family has had a number of cars that were housed in this garage and are beautifully preserved for people to see to this day.
These first two areas of the palace took about an hour to cover before the tour moved on to the last two portions of the palace Nakseonjae and the Secret Garden.
Next Posting: Nakseonjae and the Secret Garden
You will be seeing a whole lot more of this in the coming weeks:
Headline: Poll Majority Mistrustful of Upcoming Iraq Report
A majority of Americans don’t trust the upcoming report by the Army’s top commander in Iraq on the progress of the war and even if they did, it wouldn’t change their mind, according to a new poll.
President Bush frequently has asked Congress — and the American people — to withhold judgment on his so-called troop surge in Iraq until Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, issue their progress report in September.
But according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday, 53 percent of people polled said they suspect that the military assessment of the situation will try to make it sound better than it actually is. Forty-three percent said they do trust the report. [CNN]
I have talked about this before, but as the September progress reports come nearer expect the attacks on General Petraeus’ creditability to increase. Senator Reid began the personal attacks on General Petraeus all the way back in June
Some of you may remember that the last time Petraeus testified before Congress the Democrats used this article from LTC Paul Yingling to try and discredit General Petraeus and the new commanders in Iraq as incompetent even though if you actually read the whole article it has nothing to do about the current leadership in Iraq. This didn’t stop politicians and the media from claiming that it is a scathing indictment of US leadership in Iraq. This is just the beginning there will be a whole lot more attacks to come.
The Marmot has a posting about Chinese recycling used chopsticks without sanitizing them and then reselling them. Just to demonstrate that this phenomenon isn’t just limited to China let me tell you about an experience I had in Korea. Early in my first tour to Korea I liked to buy chicken on a stick in the TDC Ville. An old, crusty NCO saw me one time eating a chicken on a stick and pulled me aside and told me not to eat chicken on a stick. I asked him why and he told me to link up with him after curfew and he would show me why.
Before 2001 there was a limited number of Warrior Passes that allowed 2nd Infantry Division soldiers to stay out after curfew which I just happened to have one. So I linked up with this NCO after curfew and after curfew the ville was mostly dead with just a few GIs with Warrior Passes walking around. We stood back and watched the scene and then the NCO pointed out a woman who was walking up the ville road and picking up the sticks that GIs had thrown on the ground. We continued to watch her and as she got closer I could make out that she was the woman who operated the chicken on a stick shack. She took the sticks and brought them into her little shack. The NCO then told me that she reuses the sticks thrown on the ground to serve to GIs the next day. I have never ate foods served on sticks in Korea after that night.
Also there is a reason why I don’t drink hard liquor especially with ice in the ville either, which I’m sure some of you ville veterans can guess why.
