Here is a great link that shows the power of photography to influence public opinion. How is this photograph bending the truth of it’s message? Click here to find out.

I got an e-mail from the Lost Nomad that should put to rest the conspiracy theories about the Korean government targeting Typepad accounts to silence criticism about Dr. Hwang. Nomad was informed from Typepad about what happened:

During routine maintenance of our network and storage systems last night, we experienced an issue with our primary disk system where data from published blogs are stored. We are currently running diagnostics on the device, and working to restore your data as soon as possible. Verifying data can be a slow process and will take time.

In the meantime we are currently deploying backup copies of your weblogs from approximately 2 days ago. This is what will be displayed for your blog. The TypePad application is currently unavailable, which means that users will not be able to log in, and visitors to weblogs will not be able to post comments. We are working to bring TypePad back online as soon as possible.

Is it just me or does Typepad have a lot of problems with their accounts for some reason? Hopefully they will get this problem fixed successfully so the great K-blogs affected by the problem will be back up and running properly.

Once again the do gooders are blaming the US military for prostitution in Korea:

South Korea is edging out Japan as the new destination of trafficked women, most of whom are forced into sex trade, a woman rights advocate revealed.

Nuqui recalled that during her trip to South Korea in August, she noticed that those working in clubs near the US military bases were made to wear sexy outfits, perform on stage, and sell drinks to customers. If they refuse, they risk not getting their salaries.

Really nothing new here besides the fact that Korea beat out Japan this time in human trafficking. This is a little surprising considering Korea has 1/3 the population of Japan. This however, is a topic that continues to bug me.

Can someone please tell me how the US military is responsible for prostitution in Korea? The world’s oldest profession was alive and well in one of the world’s oldest countries, Korea long before the US military ever came here. Can also someone please tell me how USFK would even stop prostitution in Korea? Well, that is exactly what people expect the United States to do:

“We urge the United States of America to take a second look at the trafficking of women in Korea, as well as the reported involvement of US military personnel,” she said.

This is ridiculous because I see this over and over again where people expect the good old USA to stop prostitution in Korea. For example should USFK send soldiers down to the Red Light Districts in Mia-ri or Yongsan-gu and arrest all the Koreans there because the USA is expected to stop prostitution in Korea?

Does Korea and the Philippines have no responsibility as well for the prostitution problem? This is Korea and the Koreans are responsible for policing their own laws, not USFK. Plus 95% of the prostitution in the country happens away from US military bases. Even the smallest villages in Korea still have their own “massage parlors”.

The Philippines has a responsibility in this matter as well because the common perception is that the Philippine women are duped into coming to Korea. I’m sorry to burst some people’s bubbles, but most of these women know what they were getting into before they ever came to Korea. These women came anyway because they were desperate to get out of poverty and coming to Korea gave them an opportunity to earn more money than what they would have made in the Philippines plus the outside chance of marrying a US GI.

Often these women say they were duped to everyone that talks to them in order to draw sympathy from customers in order to have more drinks bought for them along with the fact that very few people would openly admit anyway to wanting to become a prostitute; especially girls from a staunchly Catholic country like the Philippines. So the do gooders take these stories and run with it. Think about it; how could these women not know that they would end up as prostitutes in Korea? For years it has been well known about the plight of Philippine women in Korea.

These facts have been discussed not only in the world media, but also the domestic media in the Philippines. Yet, the Philippine women keep coming. Why doesn’t the Philippines not allow their women to apply for the E6 Visa? They won’t do that because officially the Philippine government is against prostitution in Korea, but unofficially they sanction it by letting Philippine women get E6 Visas. The government allows this because the country needs these women to bring in the foreign hard currency to aid the economy. Plus it reduces the amount of unemployment in the country.

Yet with all of these factors out there, the USA is supposed to stop prostitution in Korea.

UPDATE#1: The Marmot is reporting that the North Koreans involved in the fire fight were actually North Korean soldiers. Very interesting. I wonder who Kim Jong Il is going to send to kiss China’s butt and apologize for this? Maybe he will send South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joong Ang Ilbo is reporting that North Korean robbers killed a Chinese soldier near the North Korean/Chinese frontier:

Chinese media reported Monday that an armed skirmish had taken place between Chinese soldiers and North Korean robbers, resulting in the death of a Chinese soldier. The firefight reportedly occurred in October in the Yanbian region of northeast China, which has a large population of ethnic Koreans.

Details were sketchy. The press reports said the attackers were North Koreans, although they did not explain how Chinese authorities had determined that they were not Korean residents in the area. The gunfight, the reports said, occurred after six Army troops engaged five robbers at a resort in the area after receiving reports of a break-in there.

The robbers escaped, the reports said. Three tourists and one staff member of the resort were unhurt, but a soldier was killed by a bullet to his chest.

Seems strange that PLA soldiers would be responding to what local police should be handling. Does anyone know if this is normal to have PLA soldiers conducting police work?

The voting for the new parliament that will remain in power in Iraq for 4 years has begun. These are not transitional but permanent seats for the next 4 years so even the Sunnis are expected to turn out and vote heavily in this election. This quote here from a 77 year old Iraqi grandma has got to be the quote of this election:

“ANYONE WHO DOESN’T APPRECIATE WHAT AMERICANS HAVE DONE — WHAT PRESIDENT BUSH HAS DONE — LET THEM GO TO HELL!”

I love it, but outside of Foxnews and talk radio I don’t expect this to get any air time because there are more important people like Howard Dean to replay over and over again on TV saying the US can’t win the war despite continuing evidence to the contrary, but still I love the quote.

One of my favorite reporter/bloggers from Iraq, Michael Yon has been nominated for TIME magazine’s Photo of the Year. The story behind the picture is tragic and is definitely a representation of the evil the US is fighting in Iraq. Michael Yon sums it up best in his own words:

It was an instant of clarity in a blur of chaos that, for many of us, frames and defines the nature of this war. Any US soldier who has ever served in combat can probably give countless examples of moments like this. I just happened to be on the scene that day when a terrorist who had been trailing a Deuce Four patrol in a car packed with explosives waited until a crowd of children had gathered around the soldiers and selected that moment to drive into the crowd and detonate. Although little remained of him to be shown in this frame, the image somehow still reveals the true nature of our enemy in this war.

You can read Michael’s dispatch describing what happened before and after this photo by clicking here.
You can vote for Michael Yon by clicking here. Just scroll through the pictures and then vote for the picture you like best. Currently Michael Yon’s photograph is ranked first with 67% of the vote. Let’s keep him there; vote now!

Hat Tip: One Free Korea

I haven’t said anything about the whole Dr. Hwang stem cell mess that has brewing the last few weeks in Korea because I figured I would wait until the whole truth comes out before commenting on it. Finally it appears the truth has come out and Dr. Hwang has in fact faked his stem cell research:

New allegations of fabricated research by Korean scientist and national icon Dr. Hwang Woo Suk broadcast in the last hour on Korean nightly news have sent shock waves through the nation.

Hwang’s research team member Dr. Roh Sung Il told Korean broadcaster MBC, “No embryonic stem cells exist” in the research that was later published in the journal Science in June, 2005.

Roh told an MBC reporter that Kim Sun Jong, one of the team researchers dispatched to the University of Pittsburgh to work with U.S. scientist and paper co-author Prof. Gerald Schatten, said in a telephone conversation recently, “Dr. Hwang and Dr. Gang Sung Keun ordered me to fake the stem cell data.”

This is a huge blow to the morale of the entire Korean nation because so many people hyped Dr. Hwang’s research under the banner of nationalism and continued to defend him and demonize those who initially criticized his work.

When the first reports came out about him faking the data I always wondered why he didn’t let independent scientists validate his work to prove the detractors wrong. He never did and hid behind the banner of Korean nationalism by accusing foreign countries of trying to steal Korea’s stem cell technology. Now it turns out there was nothing to steal.

I can’t help but wonder why Dr. Hwang faked his research to begin with? It seems like it would be tough to maintain this lie indefinitely. Is this lie a product of the internationally low regard of Korean universities where officials were maybe eager for a ground breaking scientific achievement and may not have done enough to verify Hwang’s research? I’m sure there will be plenty of theories in the coming days and I’m sure the Marmot and Oranckay will be all over it.

What is really sad about this is that this whole situation is going to further create a negative stereotype on other stem cell scientists who are doing legitimate research in order to save and improve people’s lives.

I wonder when Koreans will learn there is plenty to be proud of in Korea and don’t need to always look for the next person who will bring glory to the Korean nation. The media built Dr. Hwang up just like they do everyone else that is some how connected to Korea and the public fell for the propaganda that Hwang was going to bring great glory finally to Korea. If this guy wasn’t so propagandized by the media and in turn the government the aftermath of this whole mess would not have been as ugly as this is turning out to be.

Via the Asiapundit, here are some pictures that may be a sign of a new China.

Here is a strange fact I just though of, with all my time in Korea I have yet to see a Korean lesbian in public that wasn’t a drinky girl. Does Korea have a lesbian shortage?

The Korean government has chosen a European firm to develop a new helicopter for the ROK military. The ROK Army is in need of new helicopters because their military is still using the old but reliable Vietnam era Huey helicopters. The European firm was chosen according to the article because they met the required specifications:

The decision is a fresh departure from practice that has seen the U.S. enjoy a de-facto monopoly in Korean defense procurement, with sources saying the ministry did not take political factors like Korea’s long-standing alliance with the U.S. into consideration. A committee member said only Eurocopter’s proposal met its standards.

Looking at the concept picture of the helicopter it looks like the offspring of if a US Blackhawk and a Russian Hoplite had a one night stand. IMHO I would feel more comfortable with a combat proven Blackhawk than a European copter that has yet to be built.

According to this report via the Katolic Shinja, 90% of Koreans support torture:

The majority of Americans believe that the use of torture is justified for terrorism suspects, according to an Associate Press poll. The poll was taken in a number of different countries, showing a large gap in values between Americans and some European countries.

61 percent of Americans, 90 percent of South Koreans, and over 50 percent of citizens from France and Britain support the use of torture. On the other hand, the majority of people from Spain and Italy said that there were no circumstances that would justify such acts. Despite the support of torture, the majority of citizens in every country except the US said they are against secretly detaining prisoners for interrogation. About two thirds of Americans are in favor of that practice.

Using the liberals’ definition of torture wouldn’t soldiers in the ROK Army be considered to be tortured every day? Heck I have seen employees get slapped around here and if that employee got slapped around that way at GITMO it would be considered torture and on the front page of the NY Times. For the record I’m for roughing people up if it means saving US lives. I’m not for ripping out fingernails or hanging people up side down but if pushing someone around during interogation, intimidating them, making them listen to rap music all night, gets someone to talk then lets do it. Some how I don’t think giving someone a Koran, cable television, and a plate of cookies and milk will do much to get them to talk or save US lives.