The alleged rape of a USFK dependent outside of Osan Airbase has just gotten stranger as the girl’s parents are refusing to cooperate with the investigation:

South Korean police said Friday that their efforts to investigate an alleged rape outside Osan Air Base are all but stalled because the accuser’s family won’t cooperate.

And, they say, they worry that the man will strike again.

The alleged victim is the daughter of an American civilian employee.

Her mother reported on Aug. 29 that her teenage daughter was attacked around 3 p.m. that day in the bar and shopping district outside Osan Air Base.

But the family has not allowed police to conduct a “rape kit” exam to check for evidence of sexual assault or to question the girl, police said, and the mother has told them to stop phoning the family.

Accordingly, police said, they’re limiting their focus on convicted sex offenders living in the area.

That limitation, they said, could give an attacker time to strike again.

A South Korean man told police he saw another man fleeing from an alley near the place where the attack was said to have occurred.

But, police said, a check of closed-circuit television footage in the area did not show anyone fleeing or otherwise acting suspiciously.

On Thursday, police said the mother gave conflicting information as to where the incident occurred. [Stars & Stripes]

It doesn’t make any sense to me at least, if the girl was raped why the family will not allow police to investigate it? Strange case with probably a lot more to the story we don’t know about.

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I think the Army’s decision to make the every day dress uniform for the Army the Dress Blues which would replace the green dress uniform most people are familiar with is a bad decision:

The good old days of the green Class A’s and B’s are over. The Army’s plan to make dress blues the only Army Service Uniform is approved, and soldiers who own the uniform are encouraged to begin wearing it now.

The move to eliminate the green service uniform and the more rarely seen white service uniform is aimed at streamlining soldiers’ clothing bags while modernizing the way the traditional blue uniform is worn.

The new wear policy was announced in an All Army Activity message Aug. 20 from Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston, who is president of the uniform board that meets once a year. [Army Times]

I really like the Army’s Dress Blue uniform that for those that don’t know is only worn for special military functions like a ball, but by making it the every day dress uniform it will make Army personnel less distinguishable from the Air Force and Navy who also wear blue dress uniforms. I understand why the Army wants to change the green dress uniform but why not bring back the old Army khakis?

Heck it was good enough for John Wayne so it is good enough for me!

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I have been saying this before that I would be very surprised if US military leaders recommend troop cuts in Iraq this year and now unidentified senior US military leaders are saying so as well:

Senior U.S. military leaders say it would be “impractical” to reduce U.S. troop levels in Iraq further before the end of the year because of the logistics required in the redeployments, two military officials told CNN Thursday.The assessment comes as President Bush is considering still-secret recommendations about troop levels from his top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, as well as senior Pentagon officials including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen. [CNN]

I say I would be surprised by troop cut recommendations from senior military leaders because it would probably be interpreted by the media and political operatives as the Pentagon trying to help John McCain. Even if it isn’t true that is the perception that would be created.

Of course senior military leaders are not the ones that makes this ultimate decision so it will be interesting to see what President Bush decides to do.

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I have been thinking that Republicans have been overstating the fact that Governor Palin is the commander of the Alaska National Guard:

The Alaska National Guard, which Republicans are pointing to as an important national-security credential for vice presidential choice Sarah Palin, has personnel shortages that make its aviation units the most poorly staffed in the nation.

Just six months ago, Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the Alaska Guard’s top officer, warned in an internal memo that “missions are at risk.” The lack of qualified airmen, Campbell said, “has reached a crisis level.”

The situation has improved since the March 1 memo was written, Campbell said Wednesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press — but not enough to eliminate his concern that shortages will result in the “burnout” of troops the Guard already has. That could result in missions and equipment being moved out of Alaska.

Campbell installed a new policy that could stop officers from advancing unless they show success at bringing in new members and retaining existing troops.

Campbell is due to receive a third star on Sunday — a promotion approved by Palin, who has authority over the Alaska National Guard. He described Palin as very supportive of the Guard, but said she gives him latitude to manage the force. Governors typically do not have a direct role in day-to-day operations. [Army Times]

Yes Governors pretty much have nothing to do with day to day operations of the Guard and really only have authority when using the Guard for domestic actions such as fighting forest fires or disaster relief operations. You can read more about Governor Palin’s National Guard Credentials here.

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This is actually a great idea that I wish was expanded a bit more:

Waters near Wolmi Island off Incheon will see a re-enactment of the Incheon Landing during the Korean War on the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea and its armed forces. The city of Incheon on Wednesday said it will hold a reenactment by the Korean Marine Corps of the historic landing operation at the first landing site of the UN forces during the war. Until last year, Incheon held the annual ceremony at a memorial hall in Songdo.

This year’s event, the 58th, has been organized jointly by the city of Incheon and the Marines. The highlight of the annual event had been laying wreaths at the memorial hall, but the city decided to hold this year’s event on a larger scale.

The actual D-Day was Sept. 15, 1950. But the organizers decided to move up the date to next Tuesday (Sept. 9), given that Sept. 15 falls on one of the Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving holidays this year.

Mobilized for the mock landing scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. will be the Dokdo LPH, the Korean Navy’s 14,000 ton-class large transport ship, 24 Korean-style landing vehicles tracked, two hovercraft and six helicopters. In the mock operation, about 100 marines will perform for about 30 minutes, navigating the sea off Wolmi Island in LVTs and approaching about 150 m from the shore after plowing through a smoke screen.

Earlier, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held aboard the Dokdo to placate the souls of those killed during the landing operation in 1950. Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, the chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Korean Marine Corps, and the deputy commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea are to take part. [Chosun Ilbo]

Maybe the city and ROK Marines did, I don’t know, but I think they should have requested support from the US Marines and Army to provide personnel and equipment to participate in the mock landing as well especially since the vast majority of personnel and equipment were from the US military.

It would have been a great opportunity to promote the US-ROK alliance with such a joint mock operation to honor the veterans of the Incheon Landing Operation.

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I have been getting e-mails from readers about this and it has now been reported in Stars & Stripes:

South Korean police said Thursday their efforts to investigate the purported rape of a teenager outside Osan Air Base late last month are being stymied because the girl’s family is uncooperative.

Police said the girl’s mother reported on Aug. 29 that her daughter was attacked about 3 p.m. in the bar and shopping district outside Osan.

The girl is the daughter of an American employee at Camp Humphreys, authorities said.

But a South Korean investigator told Stars and Stripes on Thursday that the girl and her family have refused to speak with a female investigator or to otherwise give information to police in Pyeongtaek.

They said the mother on Friday first contacted agents of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command at Camp Humphreys.

Army investigators in turn notified the Korean National Police, who are now leading the investigation. The Army agents are acting as a liaison between the police and the family, said Robert McElroy, spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison-Humphreys.

According to police, the mother gave conflicting information as to which spot in the shopping district the assault was said to have occurred.

The girl was seen at Osan’s base hospital and then released, McElroy said. He said he had no immediate information on whether the girl sustained physical injuries.

Meanwhile, women at Osan have been advised not to go off base alone until an arrest is made. [Stars & Stripes]

I recommend waiting until more information comes out on this but it is important to remember that this isn’t the first time that a female in USFK has been raped. Let’s hope that this rapist is actually caught and punished this time.

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The speeches on both sides of America’s political fight are now over with the conclusion of John McCain’s speech tonight at the Republican National Convention. I watched the debate on NBC and their commentators said that McCain did not attack Obama as much as Obama attacked him, as well as offering more specifics in his speech then Obama. I agree with both assessments, but it is pretty clear that McCain has no where near the rhetorical ability of Obama so his articulation of his specifics may not have come across very well to voters.

Governor Palin on the other hand can articulate and articulate very well judging by her speech the other night. She is definitely the anti-Obama. However, like I said before the majority of people vote for who they like for President not the Vice-President. Governor Palin has just re-energized the McCain campaign and the Republican base. It will be interesting to see what the polls say, but I think it is still the Democrats election to lose; it has just become less of a sure thing this week.

You all can have your say in the comments section.

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Over at Japundit he has a letter to the editor that many of you in Korea may find interesting:

Regarding the Sept. 2 article “The ‘gaijin’ debate: Arudou responds”: Debito Arudou’s claim that the word “gaijin” is racist not only borders on whining but also smacks of something that could only be brought up by a white person. I’m part Japanese and part black, and I’ll tell you right now that I would rather be called a “gaijin” over “nigger” any day.

Arudou sounds like someone whose whiteness got him special treatment in the United States. He sounds as if he must have been shocked when he went to another country and realized that being white there wasn’t the same as it was in the U.S. All of a sudden, he was in the marginalized category normally reserved for nonwhite minorities.

I have news: “Citizenship” does NOT make one part of the Japanese race, no matter how much one wishes it. In the eyes of the Japanese, Arudou is a gaijin. Japan is not where he is from. Arudou appears to be going through a major identity crisis. To think that one can walk into another country, change citizenship and then expect the whole country to accept one not as a foreigner but as a fellow Japanese is something ripped out of the pages of Western colonialism.

I have to agree with the letter writer that being called a “gaijin” is not racist just like being called a “weiguk” in Korea is not racist as well.

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Probably when most people think of Hong Kong the picture of the city that comes to mind is of the fabulous view of the cities skyline from the famed Victoria Peak. Because of this Victoria Peak is often the first destination tourists in the city head fore and I was no different. However in my case I definitely had some concerns if I would be seeing any views at all because of the clouds that remained from the typhoon that kept dropping on and off rain and covering the peak:

I saw a break in the clouds that appeared would give some open views from the peak and thus immediately headed over to the tram terminal that takes visitors to the summit of the peak within minutes. The tram terminal is located well within the city and was actually a little tricky to find but I eventually found it. After buying a ticket the terminal opens into a museum where visitors can read about the history of the Peak Tram while they wait for their scheduled train ride:

The Peak Tram has been taking visitors to the top of the summit of Victoria Peak since 1888 and has become and icon and major tourist attraction of Hong Kong since then:

After checking out the museum I then went and waited for my scheduled tram that was due to appear any minute through the maze of buildings outside the terminal:

Like clockwork the tram arrived on time and a mad rush to secure a good seat on the tram by all the tourists like myself began:

The tram can seat 95 people as well as 25 more people standing up. I don’t know if the tram was at its maximum capacity or not but it was packed:

Fortunately I was able to get a window seat with a great view of the ride. The track is 1,365 meters long and is covered by the tram in approximately seven minutes. The tram at first winds through the densely populated city before starting a steep climb up the side of the thickly forested mountain.

Below you can see a Google Earth image of the course the Peak Tram takes as it speeds up the side of Victoria Peak:

At its maximum slope up the mountain, the tram is actually at a 27 degree incline. I could definitely feel the incline as the tram traveled at a surprisingly fast speed up the mountain. It was a fun ride to say the least.

Once the tram pulled into the upper tram terminal everyone piled out of the tram car and exited into a large shopping mall:

At times Hong Kong can seem like just one endless shopping mall and visiting Victoria Peak is no different. The shopping mall pretty much had all the standard stores except for a very cool EA Sports display where you could play a number of new and even classic EA Sports games:

It took me a little while to get out of the shopping mall but I finally escaped it and entered into a large courtyard outside overlook by the large shopping center:

Across the courtyard from the shopping center I had just exited was yet another shopping center:

How many shopping centers does the top of a mountain need? Obviously one wasn’t enough. Fortunately the powers that be in Hong Kong decided to add a visitor center for tourists amidst all the shopping malls on top of the mountain:

Unfortunately the visitor center was very small since it was in an old tram car and generally not very informative. It is a shame such a famous landmark such as Victoria Peak has such a poor visitor center for tourists.

Besides the visitor center there was another structure on top of the mountain that wasn’t a shopping mall:

This older building was a restaurant of some kind that was not open at the time I visited the peak. However, near the restaurant there was quite a good view of the south side of the island that was fortunately visible since the clouds had lifted momentarily:

There was also I nice view of other peaks that soar over Hong Kong Island:

Besides being a tourist icon Victoria Peak is also home to many of Hong Kong’s rich and elites that live in homes and apartments that hug the various hillsides of the peak:

Who can blame the rich and elites for wanting to live on the peak with views like this available?:

This above view is from near the tram terminal, the best place to view the city is from the Lion’s Gate, which is a short walk from the terminal:

Here is the beautiful view of Hong Kong through the parting of the clouds that was fortunately taking place while I was visiting the peak:

Hong Kong definitely has one of the most scenic skylines in the world but I rank it third on my all-time personal list of best skylines. My second favorite skyline would be the skyline of New York which is only topped by the beautiful views of downtown Sydney, Australia across its wonderful harbor.

Anyone else have any recommendations for their all-time favorite skylines?

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Are any of you English teachers in Korea really covert agents as well?:

Exhibit A in Russia’s media offensive over last month’s hostilities in Georgia is an American passport its soldiers found in the war zone.

That passport belongs to Michael Lee White, a U.S. Army veteran from Texas, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. On Aug. 28 in Moscow, military spokesman Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that White’s presence on the battlefield “together with Georgian commandos is a fact.” White, it turns out, is an itinerant 41-year-old English teacher in China, the Journal reported. On Tuesday, he answered the door at his faculty apartment at the Guangdong University of Business Studies and told a Journal reporter that he’s never been to Georgia.

In the world of covert action, there’s no sure way to identify undercover operatives, the paper noted. But a look at White’s recent past, as well as interviews with him and his family, turned up nothing to suggest he’s a U.S. agent, according to the report.

The passport the Russians showed off does appear to have been White’s. He told the Wall Street Journal that it looks to be the one he accidentally left in the seat pocket of a Moscow-New York flight in October 2005. [Stars & Stripes]

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