Maybe global warming isn’t so bad after all:

The nation is expected to become a subtropical zone in about 70 years owing to the effects of global warming, the Meteorological Research Institute said.

“An analysis of the change in the climate of 68 places from 1971 to 2000 shows that the subtropical climate in Cheju and a few southern areas is expected to spread to Seoul and other places nationwide between 2071 and 2100,” it said.

For some of you non-military types out there that have always wondered what it is like to eat a military MRE (Meal Ready to Eat), here is one person’s guide to eating one that may be of interest to you. 

Just for the record I really don’t mind eating MRE’s.  I think this is something the Army does very well.  They are light to carry, can be eaten hot with a heater inside each package, are filling, and most of them do taste decent.  If something does not taste good to you, you always have the option of adding Tabasco sauce to it.  My all time favorite MRE is chicken & salsa, good stuff as far as Army food goes.

I would like to send out a big congratulations to Park Tae-hwan who won Korea’s first ever swimming medal:

Park Tae-hwan of South Koreapulled off an upset at the first swimming final of the world championships Sunday, coming from behind to knock off Aussie favorite Grant Hackett in the 400-meter freestyle.

Park made a furious sprint over the final 50 meters, passing three swimmers — Hackett included — before he touched the wall in 3 minutes, 44.30 seconds to become South Korea’s first world champion.

In fact, it was the first medal of any kind for the South Koreans in the history of the world aquatic championships.

Hopefully Park’s success carries over into next year’s Olympics in Beijing. 

The Marmot is reporting that AAFES employees are involved in black marketing of beer in Korea:

Police have busted a ring that was distributing some 33,000 cases of imported beer that was delivered to U.S. military installations [Yonhap News, Korean] but later slated for disposal after its expiration date passed.

Seoul police announced Sunday it had arrested two people, including a Mr. Yu, who was in charge of waste disposal for USFK’s exchange service (AAFES, I’ll assume), on charges of selling USFK beer whose shelf life had expired by some six months to local entertainment establishments. They also booked without detention 12 others, including a USFK exchange employee by the name of Baek, and are looking for four others who have fled.

According to police, the ring had delivered some 33,000 cases (225 tons) of old beer to local food importers between October 2005 and recently, making some 2.2 billion won in the process. The crew forged documents making it seem as if they left the beer with unlicensed waste disposal firm S, when in fact they took the beer and sold it through food importers in Namdaemun Market in Seoul, the International Market in Busan and other places.

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It is official, the long over due Incheon Airport rail link has finally opened.

Update: For those coming over from Wikipedia, Key was the first US military member to defect to Canada that served in Iraq, those other two never deployed.  Telling half truths is a common tactic by people on the far left to discredit people. Notice how no where in that Wikipedia entry were the lies I exposed by Key ever disputed.

Make sure to read this updated posting about Joshua Key, especially if you clicked over to this posting from Wikipedia.

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I walked into a book store today and happened to notice a book that was standing prominently on the main book rack with what looked like an American soldier on the cover. I picked up the book and it was titled, The Deserter’s Tale, by Joshua Key. I knew instantly that this book was a hit job of the likes of Jessie Macbeth and Jimmy Massey on our hands. Fortunately the other two were exposed before they could publish books, but this latest pawn of the left has a book out sitting prominently in the front of bookstores spreading probably the same lies and hate of Macbeth and Massey.

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This is how our US Congress supports the troops:

Lengthy delays in finalizing supplemental war funding could force Army leaders to extend some soldiers’ tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

Army officials are planning cutbacks in home-station training, cuts in repair of predeployment training equipment and delays in upgrades to barracks and family facilities at stations worldwide if the president’s $94 billion supplemental request isn’t approved by Congress by April 15, Gates said at a media roundtable.

If the funding impasse stretches past May 15, he said officials will consider even more severe measures: canceling orders on all repair parts for equipment not related to war, reducing repair work at all Army depots and sharply cutting predeployment training of some brigade combat teams.

“This in turn will cause units in theater to have their tours extended, because other units are not ready to take their place,” he said.

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If you haven’t done so already you might want to check out your MyPay account:

Investigators are looking into how some myPay users had their accounts hacked, said Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka.

Operated by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or DFAS, myPay allows all servicemembers and Defense Department civilians to check their finances online.

About two dozen myPay users have had their accounts hacked over the past eight months, probably after their personal information was stolen from their home computers using spyware, a DFAS official said in a Wednesday e-mail to Stars and Stripes. There are about 3.7 million myPay users.

I found this while reading the 2ID Weekly Update:

NEW! INDISCIPLINE COP: The Area 1/2ID Provost Marshal’s Office currently maintains an Indiscipline Cop that tracks larcenies, sexual assaults, assaults, drugs, and underage drinking; as well as, statistical data on victims and subjects of the above offenses throughout Area 1. This COP is designed for the 2ID Commanders to maintain situational awareness of acts of Indiscipline throughout their Area of Operation and to assist them in encouraging their subordinates to avoid areas deemed as “trouble spots”.

In a ROK Drop exclusive I have been able to get a picture and interview with the new 2ID Indiscipline Cop:

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Remember when I said the Kurds want less Zaytun and more Hyundai?  Well I’m willing to bet that this week may be the beginning of that:

"Roh will make an official visit to Saudi Arabia from Saturday through Monday, a state visit to Kuwait on Monday and Tuesday and an official visit to Qatar from Tuesday through Thursday before returning home Friday," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.

"Through the trip, the president will seek to provide an opportunity to expand South Korea’s partnership and cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the fields of energy resources, infrastructure construction, defense industry and information technology," said the office.

It noted some 200 South Korean business leaders will accompany the president on his Middle East swing, seeking to support his sales diplomacy and establish human networks through business forums, symposiums and various industrial exhibitions.

Three days in Qatar?  I’m willing to bet one of those days is for a surprise trip to Kurdistan, to visit the Zaytun unit.  I think it would be a good thing to do, to support the troops there and to unleash those 200 business leaders on Kurdistan.  Those 200 business leaders can do more for Kurdistan than Zaytun unit is doing now.