The Koreas
- Some guys have all the luck, like meeting Grace Park.
- I guess this explains Kim Jong-il’s waist line.
- The Big Ho had a special visitor.
- I always heard that most of the apartments in the endless sea of apartment buildings in Korea were empty and it appears this claim may be true.
- Interesting to see that this phenomenom is not limited to America, as a Korean youth soccer coach assaults and beats 12 year old player.
- Pot smoking low quality foreign English teachers best stay away from Cheju Airport with the thong wearing Teddy on the prowl.
- The hippies are coming to Korea.
- With celebrations like this anyone still think North Korea wants to give up their nuclear program.
- All you ever wanted to know about The Western Confucian.
Japan
- Media hypocrisy over Armenian genocide and Korean comfort women.
- Looking at the benefits of being Japanized.
- Damn that’s a big hamburger.
- Who would have thought Japan and South Korea has Raelians?
- Skippy has an update on the debate in the Japanese diet to support US naval operations for Afghanistan.
China
- If it wasn’t bad enough how China censures information in their own country, now they are trying to censure information in the UK.
- I wonder how often this happens with people in the west wearing Chinese characters?
- Interesting look at how China bought an old Russian aircraft carrier and are trying to modernize it for use today.
Milblogs
- The General Westmoreland of the Iraq War sounds off.
- Shiites slowly turning against the Mahdi Army.
- Good post about the "quagmire" Al Qaeda finds themselves in today in Iraq.
- Syrians are openly violating UN resolutions by occupying territory within Lebanon and no one cares.
Forward Deployed
- Navy SEAL Awarded Medal of Honor
- Marines want to Redeploy to Afghanistan
- Playing Politics with Key US Allies
- Huge Re-enlistment Bonues for Special Ops Troops
- ADF Continues to Bring the Fight to the Taliban
- Georgian Soldiers Deploy on Iranian Border
- A "Real Soldier" from the Left
- Details Released of German Terror Plot
- Australian Defence Force’s Poster Girl
- Women of the Israeli Defence Force
- Australian Soldier Dies in Afghanistan, Is Iran to Blame?
- Report: Al Qaeda Planted Haditha Story
- Standing Up for LT Hegseth
- Code Pink Defaces Marine Recruiting Station
- New Regulations for Blackwater
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8:54 am on October 14th, 2007 1
The Big Ho’s visitor was probably not Berkeley’s president himself but someone working in the office. There is a regular commenter at Occidentalism who also uses a Berkeley president’s office computer, and it is probably the same person. Last year I posted a guest entry at Occidentalism, and all comments sent to my gmail account included visitor details.
4:20 pm on October 14th, 2007 2
Sonagi’s bring-down aside (she left a similar comment on my blog), I appreciate the shout-out. Hell, even if the Berkeley visitor’s not the president, that person is still special to me.
You’re not killing my buzz, Sonagi!
Whoa… stomach’s rumbling. Gotta hit the toilet. Looks as though I’ve got a “special visitor” of my own about to arrive!
Kevin
10:21 pm on October 14th, 2007 3
“The General Westmoreland of the Iraq War sounds off.”
Hmmm… I don’t know, GI.
When there is a growing number of retired generals (now, including the former head general) claiming the war is being poorly directed and has little hope of any military success, don’t you suppose there might just be something to it?
Or… if we actually have that many retired generals who have no problem lying to hurt the military and support some leftist agenda, maybe we have an even bigger problem, eh? No telling what number of lying scumbags fill the ranks now… hmmm.
When these guys were in a position where they HAD to publicly agree with civilian leadership (or they would get Shinsekied) everyone championed them as great leaders and believed them no matter what obvious nonsense they said (as is now being done with Patraeus).
But, suddenly, when they are free to speak their honest opinion about the direction of the war (based on being senior military leaders with more military scholarship, training and experience than any politician involved in running the war) everybody wants to call them disgruntled liars and traitors interested only in getting publicity.
One could wonder if people no longer take a minute to contemplate probabilities before jumping on the manufactured bandwagon these days.
It is likely that the political goal of Iraq is not necessarily to “win” militarily… or establish democracy… or provide human rights for women or some minority tribe… or locate weapons of mass destruction… or punish them for causing 911… or any of the other stuff the media pushed down our throats with a straight face.
If our real goal is to control the oil, keep selling treasury bonds, insure oil is traded in dollars, maintain a huge presence in the heart of the Middle East which is only a short-range bomber away from any anti-American monkey business… or keep the aliens in the basement of the Denver airport where they belong, we can lie to the world and cover it with words like Stay the Course to Freedom and Democracy.
Yes, we can lie to the world… even if they don’t believe it.
…but these days, we are mostly lying to ourselves.
And we are believing it.
And that IS a problem.
J!
2:35 am on October 15th, 2007 4
8:17 am on October 15th, 2007 5
Judging by the chatter I overhear in my small, church-going, red state community, many of us no longer believe it. Bush is the butt of so many jokes, and a number of Republicans are actually backing the local Democratic candidate for state senate.
9:06 am on October 15th, 2007 6
The oil conspiracy theory is a bit convenient. I imagine the cost of war and casualty would offset the gain.
No, I don’t believe building democracy and “staying the course” in Iraq is a lie. Do I think our intentions are completely honest, no.
And before we criticize knee jerk right wing reaction to the general in question, we have to understand why the blogger is frustrated.