Comments on: Elephants? What elephants? http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/ Korea... in Blog Format Sun, 7 Sep 2008 06:50:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: jtb http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3131 jtb Tue, 20 Apr 2004 13:46:04 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3131 Syrian WMD materials in attempted attack in Jordan? Or were they Iraqi materials smuggled to Syria? You decide: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635381.stm" rel="nofollow">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635381.stm</a> And why isn't this something ABC, CNN, Fox, or NBC were talking about? Seems like a pretty big story to me!! PING: TITLE: Ghosts in the South Korean Electoral Psyche BLOG NAME: Kamelian X-Rays The Marmot and Kevin at IA are having a very epistemological debate about the April 15 General Assembly elections in South Korea. Between JMM, Marmot, and Kevin, I have to agree with Kevin, although Marmot can make the second-strongest PING: TITLE: Ghosts in the South Korean Electoral Psyche BLOG NAME: Kamelian X-Rays The Marmot and Kevin at IA are having a very epistemological debate about the April 15 General Assembly elections in South Korea. Between JMM, Marmot, and Kevin, I have to agree with Kevin, although Marmot can make the second-strongest Syrian WMD materials in attempted attack in Jordan? Or were they Iraqi materials smuggled to Syria? You decide:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635381.stm

And why isn’t this something ABC, CNN, Fox, or NBC were talking about? Seems like a pretty big story to me!!

PING:
TITLE: Ghosts in the South Korean Electoral Psyche
BLOG NAME: Kamelian X-Rays
The Marmot and Kevin at IA are having a very epistemological debate about the April 15 General Assembly elections in South Korea. Between JMM, Marmot, and Kevin, I have to agree with Kevin, although Marmot can make the second-strongest

PING:
TITLE: Ghosts in the South Korean Electoral Psyche
BLOG NAME: Kamelian X-Rays
The Marmot and Kevin at IA are having a very epistemological debate about the April 15 General Assembly elections in South Korea. Between JMM, Marmot, and Kevin, I have to agree with Kevin, although Marmot can make the second-strongest

]]> By: Paul H. http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3130 Paul H. Tue, 20 Apr 2004 09:06:59 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3130 A "fart" huh? Perhaps you should call it the odor of a decaying corpse -- literally (I'm not making an analogy to the current state of the US-ROK alliance). Let's see, there's still several thousand missing Americans from the Korean war, whose corpses are still in the peninsula somewhere. Most of them are probably in unmarked graves up near the Yalu, where the American columns were shattered by the Chinese counterattack after Thanksgiving 1950. I suppose you could say they died for a "unified" Korea -- which would make it wonderfully ironic for their smell to be a metaphor symbolizing the obnoxious American presence to young Koreans. But wait, North Korea is such a charnel house currently. Nobody could pick up the faint background smell of old American corpses -- so I suppose that metaphor, like the one about the elephant, doesn't work either. I guess we're back to Americans being a "fart". Well, the only thing to do with a "fart" is to open the door and clear out the room. The only thing this old "fart" would regret is leaving these long-forgotten dead behind. Maybe once we're gone the Norks will relax enough to let us go in with a comprehensive search and "buy" them back. I'd consider that money well spent (unlike previous bribes to the North Korean Barbary pirates). A “fart” huh? Perhaps you should call it the odor of a decaying corpse — literally (I’m not making an analogy to the current state of the US-ROK alliance).

Let’s see, there’s still several thousand missing Americans from the Korean war, whose corpses are still in the peninsula somewhere. Most of them are probably in unmarked graves up near the Yalu, where the American columns were shattered by the Chinese counterattack after Thanksgiving 1950. I suppose you could say they died for a “unified” Korea — which would make it wonderfully ironic for their smell to be a metaphor symbolizing the obnoxious American presence to young Koreans.

But wait, North Korea is such a charnel house currently. Nobody could pick up the faint background smell of old American corpses — so I suppose that metaphor, like the one about the elephant, doesn’t work either. I guess we’re back to Americans being a “fart”.

Well, the only thing to do with a “fart” is to open the door and clear out the room. The only thing this old “fart” would regret is leaving these long-forgotten dead behind.

Maybe once we’re gone the Norks will relax enough to let us go in with a comprehensive search and “buy” them back. I’d consider that money well spent (unlike previous bribes to the North Korean Barbary pirates).

]]> By: Plunge http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3129 Plunge Mon, 19 Apr 2004 21:39:33 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3129 Prediction: The Uri party members will soon start infighting and will bust up into a bunch of splinter groups. Within a few years, the party will be irrelevant. Prediction: The Uri party members will soon start infighting and will bust up into a bunch of splinter groups. Within a few years, the party will be irrelevant.

]]> By: slim http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3128 slim Mon, 19 Apr 2004 20:15:39 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3128 I would assume that anti-American, anti-Bush was almost the default position of many candidates from several parties. Even if there MIGHT be a silent majority who wants the alliance to prosper, noone will stick their necks out and state that in a campaign. I say this recalling that during the end-2002 anti-U.S. demos, it was the conservative Lee Hoi-chang who went as far as signing the anti-U.S. altar guest book. (Roh didn't need to prove his loyalties with that crowd). It was only weeks after the flag rippers and burners of Sejongno become the emblematic South Korean image on CNN and BBC did conservatives stage pro-U.S. rallies. I'm relieved Uncle Sam wasn't dragged into the race, but I'm sure expedience and opportunism will make U.S. ties an issue for Uri in due course. I would assume that anti-American, anti-Bush was almost the default position of many candidates from several parties. Even if there MIGHT be a silent majority who wants the alliance to prosper, noone will stick their necks out and state that in a campaign. I say this recalling that during the end-2002 anti-U.S. demos, it was the conservative Lee Hoi-chang who went as far as signing the anti-U.S. altar guest book. (Roh didn’t need to prove his loyalties with that crowd). It was only weeks after the flag rippers and burners of Sejongno become the emblematic South Korean image on CNN and BBC did conservatives stage pro-U.S. rallies. I’m relieved Uncle Sam wasn’t dragged into the race, but I’m sure expedience and opportunism will make U.S. ties an issue for Uri in due course.

]]> By: slim http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3127 slim Mon, 19 Apr 2004 15:40:41 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3127 Josh has a very transparent, one-size-fits-all agenda and will tailor all info to fit that. I was surprised and relieved at how little the U.S. was discussed during the campaign, which focused on impeachment emotions and the make-up of parliament rather than on "issues" as understood elsewhere. Uri Party newcomers are self-styled progressives (see weekend KBS identity poll), which tends to mean they are 1) nativists and 2) hard-wired to be anti-U.S. -- even while taking U.S. support for granted. Heavy and hard thinking on world affairs is beyond their competence -- and not why they were nominated or elected. Iraq will be the first test and the party is leaning toward scrapping the 3,000 troop deployment. This can be portrayed by pundits as anti-Bush, with some legtimacy, but Uri's behaviour can also be seen as a product of their basic isolationism. As wise a gesture as I thought the Roh administration's offer to contribute troops was, I doubt that South Korean society or its media are mature enough to handle casualties. If I am right, we are better off if South Korea stays home. Josh has a very transparent, one-size-fits-all agenda and will tailor all info to fit that. I was surprised and relieved at how little the U.S. was discussed during the campaign, which focused on impeachment emotions and the make-up of parliament rather than on “issues” as understood elsewhere.

Uri Party newcomers are self-styled progressives (see weekend KBS identity poll), which tends to mean they are 1) nativists and 2) hard-wired to be anti-U.S. — even while taking U.S. support for granted. Heavy and hard thinking on world affairs is beyond their competence — and not why they were nominated or elected.

Iraq will be the first test and the party is leaning toward scrapping the 3,000 troop deployment. This can be portrayed by pundits as anti-Bush, with some legtimacy, but Uri’s behaviour can also be seen as a product of their basic isolationism. As wise a gesture as I thought the Roh administration’s offer to contribute troops was, I doubt that South Korean society or its media are mature enough to handle casualties. If I am right, we are better off if South Korea stays home.

]]> By: Scott http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/04/19/elephants-what-elephants/#comment-3126 Scott Mon, 19 Apr 2004 14:55:52 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=721#comment-3126 The question shouldn't be 'Bush-ism - Yes or No? It should be 'Actively fight for American Interests (aka democracy, etc), or Not?' The question shouldn’t be ‘Bush-ism - Yes or No? It should be ‘Actively fight for American Interests (aka democracy, etc), or Not?’

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