It is good to see Korea doing what it can to aid the earthquake rescue effort in China:

 A team of South Korean rescue workers will leave later Friday for the western Chinese province that was devastated by a powerful earthquake, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.

?? The team is composed of 41 rescue workers from the National Emergency Management Agency and four officials of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, it added.

? ? The dispatch comes after the Chinese government accepted Seoul’s offer of help in efforts to rescue those who remain under the rubble.  [Yonhap]

South Korea is also standing by to send medical personnel as well.  I have yet to see if China will allow in any western rescue teams which they have so far declined help from.

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The Hankyoreh if you can believe it actually has quite an interesting interview with US Ambassador to Korea, Alexander Vershbow that is definitely worth the time to read.  Of course the Hankyoreh asked the Ambassador about the current US beef issue and I thought he gave a pretty good answer:

OIE is an independent organization and categorizes the U.S. as a controlled-risk country for mad cow disease. This means that, in terms of cattle production, there is nearly no risk of mad cow disease in the U.S., and in fact, in the U.S., not a single person has contracted the human form of mad cow disease by eating American beef. When we say T-bone steak or Kalbi made of American beef are safe, it is not just our judgment but the OIE’s judgment. In addition to the multi-layered safety measures, Korean consumers have the option to pick and buy boneless beef. No one will force them to buy T-bone steaks. 

That is the bottom line, no one in Korea is being forced to eat US beef, just like in America no one is being forced to drive a Hyundai car or buy a Samsung TV.  However, the option to buy the cheaper product should be available to consumers.  Ambassador Vershbow also had plenty to say about the current North Korea nuclear issue as well, but here is the most controversial thing he said in the interview in regards to the Japanese abductee issue:

We share the concerns of the Japanese government and people, and we have pressed North Korea to address this issue. However, we do not see that as a precondition to removing North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. We have been clear that the prerequisites for North Korea to be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List are the provision of a complete and correct declaration and disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities in accordance with October 3 agreement.

It has long been suspected that the State Department would screw over the staunch American ally Japan and this just makes it official.  Keep in mind it isn’t just Japanese who have been abducted but hundreds of South Koreans as well.  If former US military defector to North Korea, Robert Jenkins is to be believed there are abducted citizens from other nations as well.  It is amazing that a nation that goes around intentionally kidnapping citizens of other countries for espionage purposes is not considered a big deal by our State Department .

Also keep in mind that North Korea has never paid compensation to the families of Korean Air flight 858 that was bombed by North Korean agents killing all 115 people aboard in order to dissuade people from attending the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.  When Libya was removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List it had to pay $2.7 billion in compensation money to the families of the 270 victims of  Pan Am flight 103 that was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland. 

There is plenty of other terrorist incidents that North Korea has not been held accountable for but when it comes to accountability when has Kim Jong-il and his thugs ever been held accountable for anything?

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It is good to see that the US military will go to literally any depths necessary to bring back our war dead:

A U.S. military team will dive into Seoul’s Han River next week to search for remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The underwater search, the first of its kind here, is one of two missions currently operating in South Korea, according to Charles A. Ray, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for prisoner of war and missing personnel affairs. The other, a ground unit, is working in the vicinity of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. [Yonhap]

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With all these Korean students out protesting over one of the stupidest issues in a litany of stupid anti-US causes in Korea; is it any wonder why Korea’s educational system ranks so low?:

Korea stood fourth among 55 countries in terms of its university completion rate in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook, released yesterday by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.

However, Korea ranked 53rd in the extent to which university education meets social and economic needs, one of the criteria for measuring the quality of higher education.

Korea tumbled in the overall competitiveness of the education sector as well, moving six steps down from last year to 35th.  [Korea Herald]

I have to think the KTU’s North Korean indoctrination teachings probably doesn’t help Korea’s global educational competitiveness either.

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Some how I just do not see this happening:

The veterans group for combat wounded troops whose mission is to preserve the integrity of the Purple Heart has come out against giving the award to troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I don’t think people should get the Purple Heart for almost getting wounded," said Joe Palagyi, of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

PTSD does not merit the Purple Heart, according to an Army regulation that lays out the criteria for the award.

Recently, a military psychologist at Fort Bliss, Texas, told reporters during a roundtable that making troops with PTSD eligible for the Purple Heart could help destigmatize the disorder.  [Stars & Stripes]

I foresee lots of problems with this issue to include how do you measure PTSD to determine who gets a purple heart?  If anyone with PTSD gets a purple heart then just about anyone deploying to war zone should be given a purple heart.  I think this veteran’s group sums this sentiment up pretty well:

Injuries that merit the Purple Heart must happen in a combat theater and must be a direct result of enemy action, said Jack Leonard, also of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The group’s concern about PTSD is that it can be caused by other factors, not necessarily the enemy.

"Did it occur in boot camp? Did it occur because of the rough air flight into theater? Or did it occur because an individual saw the results of the Taliban massacre of a village? I can’t answer that," said Leonard, who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in Vietnam.

Another issue I foresee is that if PTSD is eligible for a purple heart then does that mean someone who ran for shelter and sprained their ankle should they be given a purple heart as well?  PTSD is a real problem but giving everybody with it a purple heart is not the way to solve it. 

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You would think that since the world has been undergoing global cooling since 1998 after the exposure of NASA’s James Hansen’s intentionally incorrect arithmetic, that the scaremongering would end but I should have known better:

No one can overestimate the harmful effects of rapid climate change. Countries around the world, especially advanced economies, are stepping up their efforts to fight global warming. However, their action has not been enough to drastically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. More efforts are needed to prevent catastrophic consequences and to save the Earth before it is too late.

South Korea is ready to take more responsibility on global warming. And the government has been stepping up cooperation to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It is also preparing measures for a new international accord on combating climate change to replace the United Nation’s Kyoto Protocol that will expire in 2012.

But, there are growing fears that the world cannot contain global warming without taking revolutionary measures. For example, the annual average temperature here in South Korea is expected to climb from the present 13.6 degrees Celsius to 14.8 degrees in 2020, 16.6 degrees in 2050, and 18.6 degrees in 2080. It is apparent that South Korea will turn into a subtropical country well before the end of the 21st century.

It is widely believed that local farmers will no longer be able to grow apples as early as 2030, while pine trees, common in the country, will disappear rapidly. People are likely to experience the wide-ranging effects of global warming in every sector of society in several decades. What matters is whether we can adapt ourselves to the rapid climate change.  [Korea Times]

And I thought the scaremongering over US beef was bad.  Ironically this past year was unusually cool and by using the global warming religionists logic if the rate of cooling continues at this rate for 20 years the globe will be 14C cooler by 2027.  I don’t think Koreans will be growing many apples in those conditions either. 

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I’m surprised someone hadn’t thought of doing something stupid like this earlier:

There are all kinds of "evildoers" in Iraq, and military officials are seeking to put an end to a rather unusual one.

According to messages posted in a military newspaper for Camp Anaconda, near Balad, Army authorities are seeking the "Porta-John Arsonist," the person responsible for torching at least four of the portable latrines since the beginning of April.

The fires — in various housing pods of the base — caused an estimated damage of $4,000, officials said. No injuries were reported in the incidents. [Stars & Stripes]

When I was in Kuwait waiting for the word for my unit to cross the berm into Iraq during the war, we stayed out in the desert in a camp made up of circus tents and porta-potties. During this time there was somebody who was deliberately crapping on toilet seats in the different porta-potties and would then write about his exploits on the walls of the porta-potty. He became known as the “Shithouse Bandit”. If anyone would have ever caught the “Shithouse Bandit” he would of been beaten to a pulp but no one ever did before we rolled out.

I wonder how long before someone in USFK thinks this is a great idea to try out the next time their unit is in the field?

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So who knows what this image is:

Here are this year’s Korea Finder Leadersboard:

1. Mark -4
2. Brian - 2
3. Leon Laporte - 1
3. Rob - 1
3. Ryoske - 1
3. Tony - 1
3. Sonagi - 1
3. Hamilton - 1
3. NC47 - 1
3. Shattered - 1

Note that who ever totals the most points at the end of the year, I will purchase for them a Korea related book or DVD of their choice using the proceeds I have accumulated by readers clicking on Google Ads. If you like this website than please support it by clicking on Google Ads of interest to you.

Also if you have an image that you think would make for a great Korea Finder feel free to submit it to me through my e-mail address which you can find on my about page.  Thanks.

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Just another reason why I do not buy TIME magazine:

Burma’s rulers have relented slightly, agreeing Friday to let in supplies and perhaps even some foreign relief workers. The government says it will allow a US C-130 transport plane to land inside Burma Monday. But it’s hard to imagine a regime this insular and paranoid accepting robust aid from the U.S. military, let alone agreeing to the presence of U.S. Marines on Burmese soil — as Thailand and Indonesia did after the tsunami. The trouble is that the Burmese haven’t shown the ability or willingness to deploy the kind of assets needed to deal with a calamity of this scale — and the longer Burma resists offers of help, the more likely it is that the disaster will devolve beyond anyone’s control. "We’re in 2008, not 1908," says Jan Egeland, the former U.N. emergency relief coordinator. "A lot is at stake here. If we let them get away with murder we may set a very dangerous precedent."

That’s why it’s time to consider a more serious option: invading Burma.  [Romesh Ratnesar - TIME]

I wonder if TIME’s editors think while the US military is busy invading Burma whether or not they should just go roll in and invade Tibet as well?  The TIME editor makes it sound like it would all just be so easy if the US military will just show up and the Burmese military will just give up and everyone will be singing kumbayah.  Where have I heard this scenario before?  You have to be really disconnected from reality to think launching a third war, in jungle terrain, with poor infrastructure, against a Chinese ally is really a good idea. 

I think the Belmont Club sums this issue up pretty well:

Burmese Army units will stand about as much chance as ants before a kid’s homemade flamethrower. And then all of a sudden the assumptions will collapse in reverse order. People are going to say, ‘we didn’t realize invasions meant killing people’; ‘we didn’t realize we wouldn’t have allies’; and finally ‘we did not think it would be so expensive’. And then we will hear that classic line: "I was for it before I was against it."

Here’s what I think. The US can invade any country it wants for a good reason and with a full understanding of what it entails. The Time magazine article is proof that there are a whole lot of people who are a long way from either having reasons or understanding — and a good chance they’ll all be in office by 2009.

Hopefully we can complete the invasion of Burma before President Obama’s campaign promise to invade Pakistan. 

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With a quake that has so far killed nearly 12,000 Chinese people it appears the Chinese government is taking disaster relief tips from their friends in Burma:

CHINA today said that conditions were “not yet ripe” to allow foreign rescue teams into the country to help with earthquake relief, citing damage to transport links in affected areas.

“At this point, transportation in affected areas is still being obstructed and it is impossible even for our own rescue teams to reach the disaster-hit areas,” said Wang Zhenyao, head of the Civil Affairs Ministry’s relief department.

“So the conditions are not yet ripe for us to allow international rescue teams into China or disaster-hit areas,” he told a news conference, when asked how China would respond to recent worldwide offers of help. [AFP]

Impossible to reach the disaster site? Doesn’t the Chinese military own helicopters to get to disaster area? This seems like another PR smokescreen from the Chinese government in order to control the information coming out of the area which allowing international rescue teams in would compromise. Considering how often the Chinese government has been complaining that politics should not effect the Olympic Games you would think they would agree that politics should not effect disaster relief operations as well. Sonagi over at TMH has a posting up that further shows the PR smokescreen the Chinese government appears more concerned about implementing then actually saving the lives of their own citizens.

Ironically China in 2006 held an international earthquake rescue drill and now none of the international teams that participated in the earthquake rescue drills are even allowed into the country to utilize the skills they trained for in China.

Here are some of the few images that have been released in the media of the damage caused by the earthquake:

Destroyed building in Dujiangyan, China

Victims in Beichuan, China

You can see a small gallery of pictures here. No matter what you think about the Chinese government everyone should keep the people effected by this earthquake in their prayers.

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