Three Interesting Stories

Ruud Lubbers, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, has been accused of sexual harassment by an American woman who has worked for the agency for 20 years. Given Lubbers’ pathetic performance of his duties–especially when it comes to North Koreans in China–it’s tempting to presume the truth of the accusations and hound him into retirement for the good of all humanity. If it’s true, it suggests one way China might have corrupted him. Having investigated, prosecuted, and defended dozens of...

Update–USFK to Iraq

The Pentagon just confirmed that it won’t replace the brigade that it will withdraw from Korea. It also says that the number to be reduced is 3,600, not 4,000. As stated before, however, that doesn’t include thousands more whose function had been to provide their combat support, medical, dental, legal, commo, etc. Aidan Foster-Carter has a must-read denunciation of the thugs who may succeed in shutting down FreeNK, the effort of a few North Korean defectors to broadcast into their...

USFK to Iraq–You Heard it Here Weeks Ago . . .

. . . but you probably made the same guess yourself. Rummy will indeed take troops from Korea to send them to Iraq, just as I’ve been suggesting. The diplomatic significance of the U.S. Army taking half of its infantry strength–a whole brigade of 4,000 troops–is hard to overstate. This is an earthquake. Here are just a few of the angles from which one can analyze this. US Force Restructuring It marks a dramatic escalation of the agreed timetable for...

Update–USFK to Iraq

The Pentagon just confirmed that it won’t replace the brigade that it will withdraw from Korea. It also says that the number to be reduced is 3,600, not 4,000. As stated before, however, that doesn’t include thousands more whose function had been to provide their combat support, medical, dental, legal, commo, etc. Aidan Foster-Carter has a must-read denunciation of the thugs who may succeed in shutting down FreeNK, the effort of a few North Korean defectors to broadcast into their...

Update–USFK to Iraq

The Pentagon just confirmed that it won’t replace the brigade that it will withdraw from Korea. It also says that the number to be reduced is 3,600, not 4,000. As stated before, however, that doesn’t include thousands more whose function had been to provide their combat support, medical, dental, legal, commo, etc. Aidan Foster-Carter has a must-read denunciation of the thugs who may succeed in shutting down FreeNK, the effort of a few North Korean defectors to broadcast into their...

Update on Ways of Thinking

JeffInKorea has opened up a raging debate over at his site about the different ways Koreans and Americans think. Not being a philosophy major, I went home and asked my wife what she thinks of the premise. Her answer: “It depends on the person.” Such a smart woman; no wonder I married her. But isn’t there an undeniable difference in the ways Koreans and Americans reason through problems–a difference that one does not see with Korean-Americans? After much more discussion...

USFK to Iraq–You Heard it Here Weeks Ago . . .

. . . but you probably made the same guess yourself. Rummy will indeed take troops from Korea to send them to Iraq, just as I’ve been suggesting. The diplomatic significance of the U.S. Army taking half of its infantry strength–a whole brigade of 4,000 troops–is hard to overstate. This is an earthquake. Here are just a few of the angles from which one can analyze this. US Force Restructuring It marks a dramatic escalation of the agreed timetable for...

USFK to Iraq–You Heard it Here Weeks Ago . . .

. . . but you probably made the same guess yourself. Rummy will indeed take troops from Korea to send them to Iraq, just as I’ve been suggesting. The diplomatic significance of the U.S. Army taking half of its infantry strength–a whole brigade of 4,000 troops–is hard to overstate. This is an earthquake. Here are just a few of the angles from which one can analyze this. US Force Restructuring It marks a dramatic escalation of the agreed timetable for...

Update on Ways of Thinking

JeffInKorea has opened up a raging debate over at his site about the different ways Koreans and Americans think. Not being a philosophy major, I went home and asked my wife what she thinks of the premise. Her answer: “It depends on the person.” Such a smart woman; no wonder I married her. But isn’t there an undeniable difference in the ways Koreans and Americans reason through problems–a difference that one does not see with Korean-Americans? After much more discussion...

Differences in Thinking

JeffinKorea has posted some of the most insightful analysis of the differences in how Koreans and Americans think that I’ve seen anywhere. His thesis is that Koreans reason inductively–moving from the conclusion to the facts–rather than deductively, as most westerners tend to do. My comment below his post extends his insight to the growing chasm between Americans and Koreans to the SOFA and North Korea. I think Jeff is onto something here.

Three More Years

Some comments I’ve spotted at various blogs have hoped (against all odds) that the Constitutional Court will uphold Roh’s impeachment. Roh is incompetent and the impeachment is legal, ergo it’s a good idea. That argument misses the point as surely as the impeachment itself did. Just look at where it got the GNP. Roh was riding at 30% in the polls before the GNP gave him that sympathy boost, no matter how illogical and divorced from the realities of Roh’s...

Differences in Thinking

JeffinKorea has posted some of the most insightful analysis of the differences in how Koreans and Americans think that I’ve seen anywhere. His thesis is that Koreans reason inductively–moving from the conclusion to the facts–rather than deductively, as most westerners tend to do. My comment below his post extends his insight to the growing chasm between Americans and Koreans to the SOFA and North Korea. I think Jeff is onto something here.

Three More Years

Some comments I’ve spotted at various blogs have hoped (against all odds) that the Constitutional Court will uphold Roh’s impeachment. Roh is incompetent and the impeachment is legal, ergo it’s a good idea. That argument misses the point as surely as the impeachment itself did. Just look at where it got the GNP. Roh was riding at 30% in the polls before the GNP gave him that sympathy boost, no matter how illogical and divorced from the realities of Roh’s...

ROKs Won’t Go to Iraq

Owen at RathbonePress is on board with my view that South Korea isn’t going to send troops to Iraq. Previously, I stated that we could make much better use of the Second Infantry Division (now serving in Korea) than 3,000 South Koreans assigned to the most peaceful part of Iraq. Now, some evidence is emerging that Rummy agrees with that. A South Korean friend and I recently bet 10,000 won on this. I should have said British pounds. Which brings...

It Sucks to Be Right

On April 21st, I blogged about the new Radio FreeNK and closed by presciently asking, “How long till Roh shuts it down?” We have our answer. South Korea is trying to shut down FreeNK, a radio station that broadcasts independent journalism into North Korea from Seoul. First, they banned the Kim Jong-Il comic book that went on to become a bestseller in Japan. Then, last summer, they beat up Norbert Vollertsen when he tried to send radios into North Korea...

ROKs Won’t Go to Iraq

Owen at RathbonePress is on board with my view that South Korea isn’t going to send troops to Iraq. Previously, I stated that we could make much better use of the Second Infantry Division (now serving in Korea) than 3,000 South Koreans assigned to the most peaceful part of Iraq. Now, some evidence is emerging that Rummy agrees with that. A South Korean friend and I recently bet 10,000 won on this. I should have said British pounds. Which brings...