Here is an interesting report from Strategy Page:

In central Iran, satellite photos revealed several tunnels being dug into a mountain near a nuclear weapons research facility. Several other nuclear research facilities have had some of their operations moved underground, but this tunneling operation is one of the most ambitious “protective” efforts yet undertaken. Iranian officials have been to North Korea, and seen the extensive underground facilities there. It’s possible, even likely, that North Korean engineers are lending their expertise (for a fee) to assist the Iranians in their tunnel construction. Tunnels for industrial facilities are not quite the same as highway, aqueduct or mining tunnels, which Iran has many of.

I did a little research and through Global Security.org I was able to locate the nuclear weapons research facility in central Iran.  The facility is located 15 kilometers southeast of the city of Isfahan.  The facility operates four nuclear reactors that were supplied by China.  I did a little Google Earthing to locate the site.  Here is where the city of Isfahan is located in relation to the rest of Iran:

Here is an image of where the nuclear facility is located in the vicinity of the city of Isfahan:

Here is a close up look at the nuclear facility:

Here is a still image of what this facility looks like:

To the northwest of the facility you can see the excavation occurring on the side of the moutain:

It appears that the center of the excavation is a possible concrete production facility to facilitate the construction of the bunker complex.  I highlighted on the image two bunkers that I could see that appeared either completed or at least their entrances are completed.  There is also what appears to be three possible large concrete buildings as well that may hide possible entrances to additional bunkers.  I could also make out what appears to be digging for two more bunkers on each side of the excavation area where our industrious North Korean engineers are hard at work for the Iranian mullahs.

Just another example that the enemies of the United States have no problem collaborating and working together in order to undermine the United States and the world community in general.

For those that have not been following the illegal activities of North Korea very closely, TIME magazine has a good article titled the "Sopranos State" that clearly lays out the wide range of criminal enterprises being masterminded by the regime in Pyongyang.  This last paragraph in the article pretty much sums up the current US policy to dealing with the criminal activities of North Korea:

So what can the U.S. and its allies do? As a start, Asher and others argue that Washington could lean more on China and South Korea to beef up their surveillance and interdiction of suspect ships coming out of North Korean ports–which over the long term could dissuade Kim & Co. from pursuing its Sopranos-state operations. But that would take time, and right now the U.S. appears focused on getting a nuclear deal out of Pyongyang, no matter what sort of activities it might have to overlook in the process. For Kim and his cronies in Bureau 39, that means business is only going to get better.

As long as the regime is allowed to make money through illegal means Kim Jong-il’s policy of Strategic Disengagement appears to be more likely. 

I highly recommend reading OFK’s take on how "Law Enforcement Will Be Compromised".

It is good to see that Guus Hiddink is still involved and doing good things for Korea. 

Four North Korean refugees have defected to the Danish embassy in Vietnam and are requesting to be sent to South Korea.

Just another example that most USFK servicemembers are not idiots on the subway.

Does anyone know who this statue represents?:

Here are this year’s current Korea Finder Leader’s Board:

Mark -9

James – 2

Sonagi – 2

Peekstr – 1

HumKor – 1

Farty – 1

Mike -2

Maui – 1 

Note that who ever totals the most points at the end of the year, I will purchase for them a Korea related book or DVD of their choice using the proceeds I have accumulated by people purchasing books from Amazon.com on my website.

Who knew that Korea actually has an American football team?

From the Chosun:

The prices of beef, pork and chicken are all falling in the aftermath of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. U.S. beef imports are still minimal but just the expectation of a full fledged import onslaught is weighing heavily on domestic meat prices. It’s good news for consumers but bad for Korean farmers.

The National Statistical Office says prices of pork and both domestic and imported beef fell together for the first time in eight years in the April-to-June quarter. Domestic beef prices slipped 2.0 percent and foreign beef 3.7 percent year-on-year, while pork dropped 6.9 percent.

The Chosun article tries to make the fall in prices for meat seem bad for Korea and even offers this evil looking American cow to back up their claims:

The fall of food prices is good for consumers and if Koreans feel they need to support the domestic meat market than they still have the option of buying Korean meat just like car buyers in the US have the option of buying a cheaper Korean car or a more expensive American one.  Rising quality of Korean cars and cheap prices is forcing American companies to improve the quality and prices of the vehicles they offer.  This is called capitalism and free trade, in the end the consumers win, not just the evil American beef producers. 

 UPDATE: MCC has the latest article up on the Metzger case.  Things are getting more interesting in this case and it is becoming clearer why the Air Force is in full cover up mode.

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The Stars & Stripes today provides an update on the strange story of Jill Metzger:

Maj. Jill Metzger, the Air Force officer who went missing for three days in September in Kyrgyzstan, then said she’d been kidnapped, is to be temporarily retired from the Air Force after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, her father said Tuesday.

Metzger is to be on the “temporary disability retired list” starting this month, her father, retired Air Force Lt. Col John Metzger, said in a telephone interview Tuesday from his home in North Carolina.

For those who haven’t been following this case, MAJ Metzger disappeared from a shopping center in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan last fall. She was found three days later when she knocked on the door of a home in a nearby village asking for the family to call for help because she had escaped from a group of people who had kidnapped her.

(more…)

Seriously this Judge Roy Pearson needs to get over it.  After losing his $54 million dollar lawsuit over a pair of pants, he is again going after the Chungs:

He’s baaaa-ack: Roy Pearson, the D.C. administrative law judge who filed, fought and lost a $54 million lawsuit against the Korean immigrants who own his neighborhood dry cleaners, chose the Fourth of July holiday to make it clear that he will not be going away.

Despite a clear finding by D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff that Pearson’s case against Custom Cleaners had no merit and that the cleaners’ possible misplacing of a pair of Pearson’s pants was not worth a penny to the plaintiff, Pearson is back. He wrote to defense lawyer Christopher Manning this week to let the Chung family know that Pearson plans to file today a motion arguing that Bartnoff failed to address Pearson’s legal claims and asking the judge to reverse her verdict in the case.

Get this, Pearson says that he is fighting on the behalf of all Washington residents.  What an idiot and a disgrace to the legal profession.  Support the Dry Cleaners!