After seeing an article on the donut cheeseburger here, I had to try it for myself.  Now, at first this seemed like an odd combination to me, but I must say, after eating it, I wanted more.  You can find the donut cheeseburger for sale about 10 minutes away from Yongsan Garrison at Amapola Deli in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.  

Donut Cheeseburger

Donut Cheeseburger halved

Amapola Deli outside

Amapola Deli inside

Amapola Deli owner

The donut cheeseburger, originally named the Luther Burger, was a hit in the U.S..  The owner of the deli told me that he had decided to sell the donut cheeseburger after reading about it on the web.  The donut cheeseburger has a Krispy Kreme glazed donut cut in half with bacon, cheese and hamburger meat sandwiched in between.    

The deli was packed full of customers waiting over 30 minutes to get one of these 1000 calorie burgers and according to a couple of customers I talked to, well worth the price and wait time.  If you have never tried one of these burgers in the U.S., I suggest you make your way to the Amapola Deli and try one, you won’t be disappointed.

Jim Vestal/Stars and Stripes Camp Casey, South Korea, July, 1961: A platoon sergeant gives his 7th Infantry Division troops a few pointers on how to safely disembark from a landing craft at Camp Casey's Schoonover Bowl during preparations for Operation Sharp Edge, to be held later in the summer on Korean beaches. Nearly 7,000 troops from the division were to take part in the 24-hour, no-live-ammunition exercise, which used the U.S. Seventh Fleet and American and South Korean jet fighters for simulated bombardment during the landing.

Via the Stars & Stripes.

Chickenhead pointed this out earlier about this story that has been making the rounds:

Col Lawrence Sellin was sent home after generals read an opinion piece he had written revealing “little of substance” was done at the coalition’s joint command in Afghanistan.

He went on to paint a picture of a bloated organisation, swollen by the vanity of commanders, where endless slide show presentations are given to brief “cognitively challenged” generals.

A spokesman for the joint command confirmed Col Sellin, an army reservist with a PhD who was on his second tour of Afghanistan, had lost his job because of his remarks.

“He’s no longer working at the joint command, he has been sent back to his unit.”

Col Sellin’s piece, written for the news agency UPI and called “PowerPoints ‘R’ Us”, was published on Tuesday, but appears to have been born of a long period of frustration.

Beginning by acknowledging the piece may not benefit his career, but explaining it would be therapeutic, he wrote: “I have been assigned as a staff officer to a headquarters in Afghanistan for about two months. During that time, I have not done anything productive. Fortunately little of substance is really done here, but that is a task we do well.”

He said the international coalition’s sprawling joint command, which oversees operations across Afghanistan, was probably founded “to provide some general a three-star command”.

It had grown from a small group of “dedicated and intelligent officers” to “a stove-piped and bloated organisation, top-heavy in rank” where “you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a colonel”.  [The Telegraph]

You can read more at the link as well as COL Sellin’s entire article here.  He had to have figured he would get canned after writing such an article which leads me to believe he was looking for a way out of Afghanistan and this was a quick way to do it.  According to Danger Room COL Sellin is a 61 year old reservist with a Phd who was sacked from his position shortly after his commanding general read the article.   He says this was his attempt to change the command culture in the joint command he works after going through the proper channels led no where.  I think if true that even if what he claims is true, which I agree there is some truth to what he says, this is a highly unprofessional way to air such grievances.  He should have wrote an article for a professional military publication, which his command would have been notified of thus freeing him of getting sacked, which unless of course he just wanted to get sacked in the first place.

This is a picture of Chelmulpo (Incheon) in 1905 via Robert Neff who also shares a story about the first western ascent of Halla Mountain on Cheju Island.

Via the good folks at This Ain’t Hell comes yet another possible Stolen Valor case this time involving a Congressional candidate by the name of Connie Polich:

Connie Pollich is a state representative in Ohio who spent eight years in the Air Force. It appears that her rack is growing. No, not that rack, get your mind out of the gutter. Her rack of ribbons.

Here’s what her decorations looked like in an Air Force photo;

And here’s what she looks like on the campaign trail;

You can read and see more pictures over at This Ain’t Hell to include some close up photos of the ribbons she is sporting now.  This seems like an awful lot of ribbons to have for someone who only served 8 years in the Air Force with no war time service.  I will have to rely on my Air Force readers to dig into this and determine whether she is a fraud or not.

Via PowerPoint Ranger.

She shot a final round 70 to finish three shots ahead of Kristy McPherson, Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, and Jee Young Lee.

Wie opened Sunday tied for the lead at minus ten with Shin. Both golfers made an early bogey to fall back to minus nine.
This allowed Pettersen, Lee, and a red hot Kyeong Bae to get within one of the lead.

On the 8th hole, Wie got the lead to herself and never was tied again. She made a birdie putt from less than ten feet as Shin couldn’t get it up and down from a bunker. Michelle was up by two with ten holes to go.

Wie birdied holes 13, 14, and 15 to open up a four-shot lead. The 13th and 14th holes were par 5′s. Shin and Wie both made birdie from less than ten feet. On the 14th Wie hit her second shot into a greenside bunker and made a mediocre sand shot. No problem- Wie ran in a twenty footer for birdie as Shin scrambled for par. Her third birdie was a chip-in from just off the back of the green. She made a great par on 16 after a bad drive and an approach shot into a bunker. She did make a three-putt bogey on 17 but 18 was a safe walk in the park for her. A good drive and approach, two putts for par and the victory. Wie now has two LPGA Tour wins, but neither happened in the United States. Her first win was the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico last November.

Curiously enough my family ate the exact same dinner, Chicken Parmesan served with Penne pasta, when Wie won both her tournaments. I make this dinner on average about every six weeks, but usually not with Penne. If Michelle Wie reads this, she may ask me to make this food when she’s in contention. Cue the sarcastic laughter.

Today’s win was as impressive as her first. She played steady golf and made timely birdies. A television announcer said the win will put Wie at #7 in the Rolex rankings which are already a crowded fight for #1.

Other comments

*- Will Golf World magazine put Wie on its cover this week? Ai Miyazato has won 5 LPGA tournaments this year, Yani Tseng won two major championships, but GW never once put them on the cover. Instead we the magazine’s subscribers got to see Anthony Kim and Arjun Atwel featured.

I think Golf World won’t take a pass on a Wie cover but its editors and writers have proved to be dumb and clueless before and they could do it again.

*- At no time during the golf broadcast was a mention made of the cheating controversy I blogged about today and yesterday. This is a little surprising because announcer Judy Rankin has been known to check the internet and make mention of something she read.

*- Suzann Pettersen again couldn’t make birdie putts when in contention. She had four or five good to very good chances at least for birdie today.

*- LPGA’s live scoring had Jee Young Lee making an eagle on ten and pulling to one behind Wie. It was a mistake, Lee only made a birdie. Lee’s run at the title was spoiled by back to back bogeys on 11 and 12.

*- *- Will Jiyai Shin retake #1 in the Rolex rankings? She, Ai Miyazato, and Cristie Kerr are closely grouped and Shin finished 2nd today where as her rivals finished T15 and T8 respectively.

Shin remains #4 in the world rankings behind Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, and Suzann Pettersen.

Also blogging about Wie’s win- Hound Dog and The Constructivist at Mostly Harmless

Steve Elling at CBS Sports has more on the incident at the CN Canadian Open  which I wrote about yesterday.

Initially, the LPGA seemed satisfied with the player actions and sanctions.

“No one with the LPGA was privy to any discussions between the players and caddies in advance of the players’ efforts to seek out a rules official to explain the situation,” a spokesman said Saturday. “We know only that the players came forward, admitted their issue and received the appropriate result based on the rules of golf.”

However, that stance has clearly changed.

LPGA communications chief David Higdon confirmed Sunday morning to CBSSports.com that the tour intends to interview all the parties involved and then mull a possible course of action.

“We have treated this situation very seriously, and have or will speak to all principles involved,” Higdon said in an email Sunday morning. “Yes, we are looking very closely at it.”

The LPGA has had issues in the past with South Korean natives, who have been accused by other players of bending rules by conversing with friends or parents and receiving advice in their native tongue, among other perceived violations. The LPGA at one point put players on notice that such conversations and interaction would not be tolerated. One longtime LPGA caddie with his own blog site claimed this weekend that Korean players have been getting away with rules violations for years, causing some to accuse him of racism.

The LPGA has to investigate what happened, and if Ahn and Chung’s actions were deliberate, they should be suspended from the tour. Ryan at Waggle Room now writes

On Saturday evening, Waggle Room learned that it was Ahn’s caddie who told the story direct to Smich but may not be willing to share details publicly for fear of being shunned in the golf community.

Ahn’s caddy could be in position of  causing great harm to a pro golfer’s career and reputation.  It is very understandable why he wouldn’t want to talk publicly.

One last comment about Smich.  He has a long history of making derogatory comments  about the South Korean players.  People who have read his blog for any length of time, would  have a basis to say he is a racist.  I think his anger at being fired by Mi Hyun Kim 11 years ago has made him very bitter and his lack of success as a caddie of late,(He hasn’t been close to a winning bag in all the time he’s blogged, and if I checked, the top 20 finishes of his players in that time can be counted on one hand easily) caused his feelings to turn to hate or racism. His outspokenness has undoubtedly caused these players also not to want to hire him.

Interestingly enough I checked Smich’s archives, he worked for Ahn once at the Wegmans. So he has caddied for both Ahn and Chung in the past.

At the CN Canadian Open, Michelle Wie has a 2-shot lead with 5 holes to go.

Update- Golf writer and blogger Bob Weeks has more

A source told me on Sunday that the two players allegedly knew about the mix up by the time they reaced the scorer’s tent and discussed it in Korean, agreeing not to bring it up. The source then alleged that Ahn’s caddie also knew about the situation and threatened to turn them in.

Reportedly, the players waited two hours after their final round before contacting the LPGA Tour to report the incident, calling from their hotel.

Weeks is a much more credible source than Larry Smich. Chung and Ahn are in for big trouble.

Hat tip- Geoff Shackelford

I was a bit late posting this, but below are the July 2010 USFK Court Martial Results from the USFK website.  Once again typical stuff, but three DUI’s in one month should be something of a concern:

Court-Martial Results for July 2010

At a summary court-martial on 15 Jul 2010, PFC Jaamal Breland, E Company, 302d Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of being absent without leave.  He was sentenced to reduction to Private (E-1), confinement for 30 days and forfeiture of $1,010.000 pay for one (1) month.

At a special court-martial on 20 Jul 2010, PFC Rashen S. Chambers, A Company, 2-9 Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of two specifications of assault:  1) assault by intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm and; 2) assault consummated by battery.  He was sentenced to reduction to Private (E-1), confinement for eight (8) months, and a bad conduct discharge.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions for July 2010

In Seoul Central District Court on 29 June 2010, A1C Samon T. Yitbarek, 8th CES, was convicted of larceny.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 2 July 2010, SGT Chad R. Long, HHC, 194th CSSB, was convicted of assault.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 5 July 2010, SPC Clayton M. Davis, B Co, 602d ASB, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 6 July 2010, SPC Christopher Cintrol, HHC, 194th CSSB, was convicted of assault.  His adjudged sentence was a 2,000,000 Won fine.

In Daegu District Court on 6 July 2010, Devon C. Elamin, 348th QM Company, was convicted of intrusion upon a human habitation.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 7 July 2010, SSgt Sung M. Cho, 731st AMS, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 14 July 2010, 2LT David K. Vandergraff, B Co, 6/52d ADM, was convicted of a traffic violation.  His adjudged sentence was a 500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 14 July 2010, MSgt Blanine C. Listenbee, 51st OSS, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 2,000,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 26 July 2010, PFC Aric A. Smith, HHC, 1/72d AR, was convicted of larceny.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

Shades of Pinatubo?

A volcano in western Indonesia spewed hot lava and sand high into the sky early Sunday in its first eruption in 400 years.

Government volcanologist Surono, who uses only one name, said Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province started rumbling a few days ago and the minor morning eruption has mostly stopped.

It sent sand and ash up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) high but lava only moved near its crater. It caused no major damage and “only dust covered plants and trees,” he said.

He said Mount Sinabung last erupted in 1600, so observers don’t know the volcano’s eruption pattern and are monitoring it closely for more activity.

Evacuations on the volcano’s slopes started Friday at the first signs of activity. Up to 10,000 people who fled are staying in government buildings, houses of worship and other evacuation centers in two nearby towns.

The government has distributed 7,000 masks to refugees and set up public kitchens so people can cook food, said Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Life as a refugee isn’t easy financially or emotionally. I have small experience with it after three hurricanes passed through South Florida in 2004 and 2005 and without AC my home is about impossible to live in. Yes I’m spoiled but I have serious health issues also.

Back to Sinabung. I’m surprised she erupted without some scientist suspecting it was coming. Volcanos along the Ring of Fire are monitored but perhaps Sinabung’s inactivity caused it to be overlooked.  Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines was estimated not to have erupted in 450 years before it blew its top in 1991.  Sometimes the longer a volcano is quiet, the bigger the eruption.