Just another example to remind everyone of the nature of the enemy we are facing:
TALIBAN extremists are reportedly phoning the families of troops fighting in Afghanistan and telling them their loved ones are dead.
The shocking news came as Taliban chiefs was revealed their ally, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is alive and well.
Afghan insurgents have been using mobile phone-hacking technology to extract phone numbers to target the families of British troops, The Sun newspaper in London reported today.
It is feared they may also target Australians, Americans and other Coalition allies.
It is amazing that some people in the US government want the US military to surrender to such people.
I think Nomad is on to something with the fact that the North Korean Arirang Mass Games are going to continue despite the flooding, but the Second Inter-Korea Summit has been delayed. Someone else who is on to something is OFK who finds the damage statistics from the flooding very suspicious:
Beyond that, things are less certain. North Korea officially claims that the floods killed 300 people and left 300,000 homeless. Those figures don’t jibe with each other. In a mountainous and underdeveloped country, any disaster large enough to make more than a quarter of a million people homeless — the size of a small city — would have claimed more lives.
OFK also links to this Bloomberg report that offers plenty dubious statistics as well:
The UN said today that 58,000 homes were damaged in the flooding, 50 percent of the country’s health clinics were destroyed, and as much as 70 percent of arable land was under water. More than 800 public buildings, 540 bridges, 70 sections of railway and 500 high-voltage power towers also were destroyed, according to the UN. [Bloomberg]
It doesn’t make sense that the Arirang Mass Games would continue if these statistics that represent a nation wide mass disaster are true. That is because these statistics are probably not true and the flooding is being used as a convenient excuse to delay the summit to October so it has maximum impact on the South Korean presidential election, allow NK to have more time to make demands, ask for increased international aid that will not be monitored, as well as exact maximum propaganda value from the summit:
Moreover, October is a month for a series of celebrations in the North. October 8 marks the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s inauguration as the Secretary General of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), while the 9th marks the first anniversary of the country’s nuclear test, and the 10th is the 62nd anniversary of the foundation of the KWP. If the South Korean president’s visit to Pyongyang coincides with these dates, North Korean propagandists could likely attempt to make the most of it. [Donga Ilbo]
Finally the biggest reason for playing up the flooding damage is that President Roh can use it as cover when he locks South Korea into an extended bribery yearly humanitarian aid package to North Korea. He can claim it is the "North Korean Marshall Plan" to rebuild the country after the flooding. Talk about a well time flood. I bet Roh and Kim were both jumping at the chance to delay the summit when the rain started falling.
Someone needs to be fired over this:
A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an Army base in Texas, U.S. officials said.
The company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines in Habbaniyah, Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89-cent split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Pentagon records show.
The owners of C&D Distributors in Lexington, South Carolina — twin sisters — exploited a flaw in an automated Defense Department purchasing system: bills for shipping to combat areas or U.S. bases that were labeled “priority” were usually paid automatically, said Cynthia Stroot, a Pentagon investigator. [Tony Capaccio – Bloomberg]
First of all, it is disgusting that people would rip off the military at a time soldiers are at war dieing every day and need every dime available to support them. Secondly, this is a huge oversight error because this had been going on since 2000 without anyone noticing. Whoever was over responsible for oversight of this system should be held accountable.
Fortunately the Army is getting their money back and audited all the shipping records in this system and tracked down a few more frauds. One positive thing to take out of all this is that somebody did catch it and those responsible for the fraud were tried and convicted with the military getting their money back.
It looks like that the next President of Korea will be former Mayor of Seoul Lee Myung-bak after he won his party’s primary over rival Park Guen-hye. This isn’t surprising since Lee has had double digit poll leads over Park before the primary and has even larger poll numbers over all the other Presidential candidates from opposing parties. His high poll numbers make it very likely that Lee Myung-bak will be the next President of Korea. Here is what Lee had to say after winning the primary:
`From now on, I will work closely with my supporters and opponents to have the GNP win December’s election. I will place top priority on uniting all GNP members under one roof,” he said.
“I will incorporate key campaign pledges of other candidates into my policy vision. I will help the economy grow faster so that the country can become an advanced country in five years,” he said.
He definitely needs to Park Guen-hye to close ranks with him to keep a united front against the candidate’s from other parties. The worst thing for Lee would be if Park leaves the GNP and joins another party to keep her bid for president alive because it would divide the conservative vote and open the door for another liberal like current President Roh Moo-hyun to become president.
I understand Lee Myung-bak’s comments to improve the economy because it does need work, but his claim to turn Korea into an advanced nation I find interesting because Korea is already physically an advanced nation. I hear quite often that Korea is a "developing nation". Korea is physically an advanced nation that has hosted the Olympics, the World Cup, an APEC Summit, among a host of other international events. What other "developing nation" has accomplished such things? Korea is not a "developing nation", but the mindset of many Koreans thinks it is and when Lee talks about becoming an advanced nation I hope what he means is changing the national psyche to match the physical affluence of the country. This is a change would bring out the true potential of the nation.
More on Lee’s election win over at the Marmot’s Hole.
Here is another example that if there is an anti-Israel angle that the media can find they will publish it:
Israel said Sunday it will no longer allow refugees from Darfur to stay after they sneak across the border from Egypt, drawing criticism from those who say the Jewish state is morally obliged to offer sanctuary to people fleeing mass murder.
Israel has been grappling for months over how to deal with the swelling numbers of Africans, including some from Darfur, who have been crossing the porous desert border.
The number of migrants has shot up to as many as 50 a day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, apparently as word of job opportunities in Israel has spread. The rise has led to concerns that the country could face a flood of African refugees if it doesn’t take a harsher stand on asylum seekers. [Matti Friedman – AP]
The article is titled “Israel to Turn Away Darfur Refugees”, but towards the end of the article the AP writer includes a quote that these refugees are economic refugees from Darfur that were living in Egypt:
(more…)
Choe Sang-hun has written an interesting article today about the Peace Dam in Hwacheon:
For two decades now, the erratic fortunes of the massive Peace Dam here near the demilitarized zone have mirrored the tortuous relationship between North and South. As the two sides’ leaders prepare for their summit meeting in early October, a review of its curious history suggests the barriers they must overcome in the quest for reconciliation.
The story goes back to 1986, when, as South Korea was busy preparing for its biggest-ever international event, the 1988 Summer Olympics, North Korean soldiers broke ground on a gigantic dam project just above the DMZ.
As South Koreans wondered what their unpredictable Communist neighbor was up to this time, the military dictator of the South, Chun Doo Hwan, offered his own terrifying scenario: a killer flood. [International Herald Tribune]
You can read the rest here. I drove from Chuncheon to Paro Lake via the Peace Dam before and the scenery up north of the Samyeong mountains is quite beautiful. It is actually hard to believe you are in a possible war zone, but the occasional army outpost tends to remind you.
OFK has two excellent postings I recommend everyone check out. The first posting is about the apparent death of the US-ROK FTA. Joshua as well as Brendon Carr provide some excellent insight into why this agreement is finally dead. The second posting is about the agenda of the Second Inter-Korean Summit. As I expected human rights, the closing of forced labor camps, and the freeing of South Korean hostages in North Korea is no where on the agenda.
Park Ji-sung has made it clear that he wants another foreign coach to head the national soccer team:
Following the abrupt departure of Pim Verbeek (51) as manager of the national team the national soccer council has been unsure of whom to choose as the next manager. From Hiddink (January 1, 2001) to Verbeek (July 29, 2007) the baton has been passed among five foreigners for a total of six years and eight months, and contentions that a Korean patriot should be chosen are reaching their peak.
As to his preference regarding foreign managers, it’s because Korean soccer still hasn’t adequately absorbed advanced soccer. He said, “we’re still not following the advanced European system and we can’t just graft it onto Korea like a tree. So I don’t think it’s better to have a foreign manager right now.”
Asked what Korean soccer must do to improve, he said, “Korean soccer still doesn’t follow the example of the European club system,” and pointed out that “from the time players are kids they’re controlled by the system and their education is important so that part is insufficient. It’s because overall the national team just doesn’t have the power.”
I would think that hiring a qualified coach would be more important than finding a "Korean patriot", which is exactly how Park Ji-sung seems to view this issue.
