I think this goes into the category of something I have to see to believe:

The Defense Security Command has unveiled a kind of cyborg future Korean soldier. At the Defense Information Security Conference 2007 at the Air Force Club on Tuesday, it revealed plan to arm Korean soldiers with a versatile helmet, a cutting edge airburst munition rifle and camouflage combat fatigues by 2020. The helmet is equipped with a video camera, a display and a headphone allowing soldiers to see, hear and record information and send it to other soldiers immediately. The airburst munition rifle has a laser distance measurer and target designator, a video camera and a scope.

Color-changing combat fatigues can detect biochemical weapons, radioactivity and land mines. Korean soldiers can also expect to be outfitted with wearable PCs that help them distinguish friend and foe and locate other soldiers. A military source said the Army Training & Doctrine Command had been demanding the upgrade in equipment for several years. But due to a budget problem, it will take until 2020 till they can be fully kitted out.

I wonder if the wearable PC will have Starcraft 2 installed on it or not?

Here is the latest attempt by the media and politicians to play politics with the military:

Independent ballistics tests commissioned by NBC News raise new questions about whether America’s fighting men and women really do have the best body armor available.

The Army insists the body armor troops are now wearing — called Interceptor — is the very best in the world. And, without question, those vests have saved lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But an NBC investigation suggests there may be something even better out there called Dragon Skin, a flexible body armor of interconnected ceramic discs.

What follows in the report is a very selective reporting of the facts that NBC News wants you to know about. NBC News is alleging that the US military is giving its soldiers inferior armor to save money and for political reasons. Of course this report is followed by well timed outrage from Democratic law makers:

(more…)

Here is the latest attempt by the media and politicians to play politics with the military:

Independent ballistics tests commissioned by NBC News raise new questions about whether America’s fighting men and women really do have the best body armor available.

The Army insists the body armor troops are now wearing — called Interceptor — is the very best in the world.  And, without question, those vests have saved lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But an NBC investigation suggests there may be something even better out there called Dragon Skin, a flexible body armor of interconnected ceramic discs.  

What follows in the report is a very selective reporting of the facts that NBC News wants you to know about.  NBC News is alleging that the US military is giving its soldiers inferior armor to save money and for political reasons.  Of course this report is followed by well timed outrage from Democratic law makers:

"In light of recent media reports suggesting that a particular body armor system may offer better protection than the system currently being used by our servicemembers, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Jim Webb (D-VA) – both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee – today called on Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker to initiate a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation to reassess the body armor systems currently being issued by all the military services and the Special Operations Command for effectiveness and reliability against the threats facing U.S. troops in combat," states a press release issued by the Clinton campaign.

This has caused the Army to come out and defend themselves from the false allegations:

The Pentagon news conference with Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, the Army’s top officer in charge of charge of body armor, detailed a series of tests that he says the current Interceptor system, currently issued to soldiers and Marines, has passed.

The unusual briefing aimed to refute what it calls inaccurate reporting by NBC after the network broadcast a series of reports in which correspondent Lisa Myers raised questions about the Interceptor body armor, which the military maintains is "the best, bar none."

[…]

"We have conducted the same test standard for all of our current body armor producers. Every one of them has passed with zero failures," Brown said. "This (Dragonskin) has passed with 13 failures. If they make a product improvement, we are willing to test again to that standard and see if they can make it."

Brown said DragonSkin suffered "catastrophic failures" by not being able to withstand temperature ranges from 60 degrees below zero to 120 above, a range that he says can be expected when vests are used in the arctic or put to use in Iraq. Interceptor has withstood these tests, Brown said.

What is especially troubling about this whole thing is that the US military had to release footage of all the tests so terrorists can analyze how to defeat US body armor.  What was probably the most damning information left out of the NBC report was that the Dragon Skin body armor weighs 47.5 pounds compared to the Interceptor armor that weighs 28 pounds.  How could NBC News leave such critical information as this out of their report?  It just shows that they are deliberately presenting only the facts that supports the narrative they want everyone to believe.  It is truly sad how bad the level of journalism in America has reached.  The media at one time played a critical role as a check and balance on the government, now it is nothing more than a propaganda organ and a political weapon for members of the government. I know members of the media read this blog and I would interested to read an opinion from someone in the media on the NBC reporting.

Anyway, at the rate this body armor debate is going, the Democrats will be advocating that we wear medieval armor like King Arthur pretty soon.  With the amount of weight on us that the Democrats want, it will slow soldiers down that much more and make it easier for the snipers to target soldiers and the Democrats will get all the body armor testing results they could possibly imagine. 

What is funny about this whole thing is that Marines won’t even wear heavier armor:

Extra body armor — the lack of which caused a political storm in the United States — has flooded in to Iraq, but many Marines here promptly stuck it in lockers or under bunks. Too heavy and cumbersome, many say.

Marines already carry loads as heavy as 70 pounds when they patrol the dangerous streets in towns and villages in restive Anbar province. The new armor plates, while only about five pounds per set, are not worth carrying for the additional safety they are said to provide, some say.

"We have to climb over walls and go through windows," said Sgt. Justin Shank of Greencastle, Pa. "I understand the more armor, the safer you are. But it makes you slower. People don’t understand that this is combat and people are going to die."

Staff Sgt. Thomas Bain of Buffalo, N.Y., shared concerns about the extra pounds.

"Before you know it, they’re going to get us injured because we’re hauling too much weight and don’t have enough mobility to maneuver in a fight from house to house," said Bain, who is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. "I think we’re starting to go overboard on the armor."

For the best reporting on this, I highly recommend everyone go over to OP-FOR where a body armor expert provides some really great analysis of the NBC News report.  Here is a taste of the level of detail he gets into:

NBC News claims to have commissioned an independent, side-by-side test of Dragon Skin and the Army’s Interceptor vest. According to them, Dragon Skin outperformed the Army’s body armor in stopping the most lethal threats.

There are only two labs that are National Institute of Justice (NIJ) certified to run NIJ body armor tests. They are the HP White Laboratory in Street, MD and US Test Labs in Wichita, KS. A third lab, Chesapeake Testing in Chase, MD, is under NIJ review for certification. Additional military facilities certify body armor performance for DoD. NBC does not own one of them, nor does NBC appear to be pursuing a scientific approach at a licensed facility. A proper test would require over two dozen SOV 3000 Level IV Dragon Skin vests to be placed on a human torso model and shot by specific threat rounds at a standard range and impact velocity, from specific angles and impact points, and under a variety of contamination and environmental conditions that soldiers might face in combat. Fresh off the manufacturing line ESAPI would be shot for comparison, if further certification or validation (already awarded to the ESAPI) was needed.

Was the “Interceptor” ESAPI armor NBC tested government issued or procured independently? The markings on the armor seen in the video are unfamiliar and they appear to be independently procured non-issue plates from non-standard or non-qualified vendors. Wouldn’t a fair test use the fresh issue ESAPI plates, like the Pinnacle armor provided? Are the alleged ESAPIs NBC tested fresh and certified current production? Did they come from Pinnacle or a surplus store dumpster? There are six qualified vendors that have passed ESAPI first article protocol. The vendors deny providing plates to NBC. And none of them are Canadian.

There is a whole lot more so make sure you read the whole report. 

OP-FOR has a follow up report here as well that further debunks the NBC News claims.  However, just like everything else with this war none of these politicians, their media allies, and the loony left actually care what armor is better and what the troops want and need.  This is just another issue for the Democrats and the loony left to score political points with, manufactured by their media allies. 

To settle this, I think everyone in Congress who advocates that we in the military should wear Dragon Skin body armor should spend a year walking around Washington D.C. wearing 47.5 pounds of body armor.  The discomfort they experience won’t even compare to the heat of Iraq and Afghanistan with all the extra gear we carry in the military.  If Democrats like Senators Webb and Clinton want us to wear their armor so much, they should lead by example and wear the armor with us. 

However, this has nothing to do with armor, but politics.  The Democrats and the loony left have scored their political points and now the whole thing will proceed to blow over with the American public left with the perception that the US military is using substandard armor by an uncaring Pentagon leadership only interested is giving Haliburton like contracts to Bush political supporters.  It all nonsense, but the perception has been created and the politicizing of the military continues.

If you thought Seoul was already over populated, guess what it is going to get worse:

The government predicts more people will flock to live in greater Seoul in the coming years.

The Korea National Statistical Office released a report Tuesday that more than one in two people in the country will be living in the capital and surrounding Gyeonggi Province by 2011.

The census bureau also expects all provinces to have a "super-aged" demographic by the year 2030 with at least 20 percent of the population over the age of 65.

Great more people within North Korea artillery range.  You would think it would be in the interest of national security to reduce or at least stabilize the population in the Seoul area.  Here is another demographic concern for Korea listed in the article:

Also in the future, Korean men will likely have a harder time finding a wife with gender imbalance expected to rise.

This is nothing a few mail order brides from Vietnam and the Philippines couldn’t fix.

That is according to one of the all time South Korean useful idiots, Chung Dong-young:

In his book titled "In Kaesong Station, Train Ticket for Paris," Chung recounted a "serious and straightforward" conversation he had with Kim as South Korean presidential envoy in 2005.

"Chairman Kim very much looked like an easygoing and resolute leader. Through the entire conversation, the atmosphere was serious and straightforward," he said, calling the North Korean leader by his official title, Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the communist country.

Here is what Chung claims Kim Jong-il told him:

"The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is effective for the peace of the Korean Peninsula — that was the dying wish of leader Kim Il-sung … We think we have to stand against the United States because it looks down on us, but if the United States acknowledges us as a partner we can return to the six-party talks, even in July," Kim was quoted as saying in the book.

Chung then headed to the U.S. to deliver the news to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, but Washington was generally skeptical.

"He (Cheney) asked me, ‘Do you believe him?’" Chung said.

Yes it was the dying wish of Kim Il-sung that is probably why he is dead to begin with.  As far as looking down on North Korea, what countries in the world besides South Korea doesn’t look down on North Korea for the human rights violations and nuclear brinkmanship?  I can only think of a few, Sudan, Burma, and Zimbabwe for example.  There is some exclusive company.

I have to wonder when Cheney asked Chung if he believed him if that he said that sarcastically or not?  If Kim Jong-il told Chung that he saws pigs fly off of Paektusan dropping Pyongyang soju bottles over the cheering masses of North Korea he would believe him.

From the Chosun:

North Korea used political prisoners from a concentration camp to prepare for its underground nuclear test on Oct. 9 last year, a federation of North Korean refugee organizations in South Korea alleged Monday. In a briefing in Seoul co-sponsored by the U.S. rights watchdog Freedom House, the Committee for Democratization of North Korea said it has testimony that North Korea was able to keep its nuclear test secret even from citizens because it used prisoners from a concentration camp in Hwaseong, North Hamgyeong Province.

Not that Amnesty International or other major human rights groups really care. 

Is it just me or is the Chosun trying to make this an anti-Chinese and Indian article?:

Korean students in the U.S. increasingly find themselves in competition with their counterparts from China and India. In major U.S. cities like New York and Washington D.C., an influx of Chinese and Indian students have emerged as rivals for Korean students when it comes to places at university and jobs. Even overseas, in other words, Koreans find themselves “sandwiched”, as the catchword has it, by economically and academically more agile powers.

Read the rest but the tone of the article suggests Koreans are supposed to have some God given right to the best universities and jobs in the US. 

20 years old + private rank + out past curfew + only a week left in country = trouble:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier was questioned by police who suspect he was involved in an early-morning fire Saturday at an off-post beauty shop near Camp Hovey in Dongducheon.

Pvt. Dustin T. Roper, 20, of 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry’s headquarters company, was found in an alley after firefighters responded to a fire at the Royal beauty shop at 3:55 a.m. Saturday.

Roper remained silent during questioning, a Yangju police spokesman said.

The statistical category that causes the most trouble in USFK are 18-22 year olds, within the rank of E1-E4, and either under 30 days in country or under 30 days left to leave.  The guys under 30 days get in trouble because they come to Korea and think they can drink up storm and raise hell in the ville.  The longer they are in Korea and see people getting brought up on charges for misconduct tends to moderate their behavior.  Additionally the ville just gets old and soldiers start doing other things besides going to the ville.   

Then you have the guys that under 30 days that often lose leader supervision because they are released during the day to clear their unit and installation.  These are the guys you really have to watch.  Often these guys want to go out and raise hell one last time before they leave.  Additionally if this soldier spent a year in Korea and is only a private that leads me to believe he probably got busted in rank while in Korea. 

This guy does appear to be a classic example of a high risk soldier that are the main causes off post incidents if he in fact started the fire. 

After South Korea gave North Korea $80 billion dollars for the World’s Most Expensive Tain Ride last week, you would expect North Korea would at least show some gratitude and behave for a little while, right?  No, wrong:

North Korea’s navy on Monday accused South Korea of sending warships into its waters off the divided peninsula’s west coast, warning the South would face unspecified “consequences” if the alleged provocations continue.

The South’s Defence Ministry rejected the North’s accusation.

“We never violated the Northern Limit Line,” said a ministry official, referring to the UN-drawn sea border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity citing policy.

The North’s navy command said that the South’s “warlike forces infiltrated” warships into its territorial waters many times recently, according to a statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency.

“If the South’s military ignores our warning and sticks to military provocations like this, it will be forced to take full responsibility for all consequences,” the North’s navy said.

It did not elaborate on what those “consequences” would be.

It seems like this is always the time of year North Korea begins causing trouble along the maritime border.  Next month will be the 5 year anniversary of the West Sea Naval Battle where North Korea murdered six South Korean sailors which the South Korean government has done everything possible to cover up and pretend it didn’t happen.  Could North Korea be setting conditions once again to provoke another incident on the maritime border?

Good article in the International Herald Tribune about the increasing suicide rate in South Korea:

In the past 25 years, South Korea has gone from having one of the world’s lower suicide rates to having one of its highest. Although still surpassed by some countries that made up the former Soviet Union, South Korea’s suicide rate ranks among the highest in the 30-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In 2005, South Korea had 24.7 suicides per 100,000 people, according to the Korea National Statistical Office.

In April, Japan announced measures to try to reduce its suicides from a rate of 24.2 in 2005. The rate for the United States in 2002 was 10.2.

The increase in suicides in South Korea has been especially steep in recent years, almost doubling from 6,440 in 2000 to 12,047 in 2005, according to the National Statistical Office.

What is even more troubling about the suicide problem is that many of the suicides are being organized on-line:

The government does not compile figures on how many suicides may have been inspired or aided by the Internet. But in an analysis of 191 group suicides reported in the news media from June 1998 to May 2006, Kim Jung Jin, a sociologist at Korea Nazarene University, found that nearly a third of the cases involved people who had formed suicide pacts through Internet chat sites.

What I find the most troubling about the suicide problem is that so many of them are done by students.  At least according the article the Korean government has finally recognized this problem and taking measures to reverse the trend.