CINA

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Nearly right now, exactly five years ago I was sitting at my computer, few hours before my night shift at my work place ended, and beside me in the TV CNN was running. And I got the possibility to follow in "real time" the events in NYC - I saw the first, later also the second, plane crashing in the WTC, North and South Tower(and a short while later the Pentagon was hit)..

Now five years later I found following documentary - "Obsession: Radical Islam's War against the West" - what, partly, is trying to explain the reasons why such events were/are happen, caused by Islamic "resistance fighters". Of course this docy might be very controversially, but in my opinion there are some "truths" in it.

BTW.. it's very interesting that even "serious" mainstream media, such as the German daily Berliner Zeitung, are writing about the "real reasons" of the "hate of the Islamic world against the West" - "the hate of oppressed nations against their oppressors". But especially the countries in the Middle/Near East were just few decades under western rule(of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918). Why all the nations who were centuries under western colonial rule, where millions of people were killed by the colonial powers[in Africa, India... VIETNAM(!!!)] never started the "total war" against the west/their former, but in many cases also their present, oppressors??

Anyway here it(the documentary, but just a trailer) comes:

Here, unfortunatelly only with French(^^!!) subtitles(the original English stuff disappeared a few weeks ago), you can watch the entire(1h17min) documentary:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1432100742477106895

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Latest News From The Front Line

Alert!!! The countdown has begun for the demolition of the houses (9.06, Voice of People)

The government is scheduled to destroy the vacant houses in Daechuri and Doduri sometime next week. By interviewing several police officers, we expect that the D-day will be Wednesday(13th). However, a staff member from the Ministry of National Defense has said, "we cannot confirm what day it will be" though he didn't deny a demolition plan for next week. Another staff member said, "As I know, it will start between the 11th to the 13th". Along with the demolition of the vacant houses, the government is going to follow through with the removal of the residents soon.

KCPT is planning to hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Ministry of National Defense at 5 p.m. every day starting September 7th (Thu.). They said, "We will gather as many people as possible to Daechuri and Doduri to stop the demolition. Each solidarity group is going to hold a protest in Cheongwadae and the Ministry of National Defense building. They will declare themselves strongly against the demolition." KCPT added, "We are scheduled to have simultaneous candlelight vigils in Seoul, Pyeongtaek, and other cities. Cyber vigils will be started as well."

More signs that new police attack is imminent: national protest tour kicks off (9.10)

An unmarked Ministry of Defense car cruised around Daechuri Friday afternoon. Shorty after, helicopters did several low fly-overs above the town. In the past, surveilance visits by the Ministry of Defence have been followed two or three days later by a police attack on the town. This time, the helicopters and the oficials in the car were probably gathing information to decide which houses to destroy next week.

The "empty houses" targetted for destruction have been cleaned, renovated, and reclaimed by residents and supporters. They've been converted into housing, a broadcast center, a community restaurant (where I've been helping out), the Tea House (a symbolically very important gathering spot in the center of town), an art museum, and offices for the residents committees to work in. The Defense Ministry could be planning to destroy any or all of these in the upcoming attack on the villages.

Also on Friday the 8th, a series of protests around Korea kicked off in Seoul and at nearby US military bases. Some residents will continue on until the national march in Seoul on September 24. Others joined the protests for the first few days and will now return to the village before the police arrive this week. Some supporters have also begun to arrive, to help defend the villages against the demolition.

And last but not least, three days ago a supporter of the struggle in Daechuri, actually he is a current resident there, wrote following lines:

"the tenacious win"

living in the autonomous village of Daechuri, I often hear the villagers say 'the tenacious win.'
They know they will not give up until they win this struggle.
the enemy that we are up against is the state, and the US military.
neither of them is easy to confront.
but the villagers who still live in here are not scared of the strongest military in the wolrd.
whenever they encounter a military vehicle, they go
"how dare you to come to this village, you destroyers? get the hell out right now or we're gonna kick your butt outta here."

i don't know when we get the victory, but it's very soothing to see these tenacious fighters.
there is no place for the state assholes in this village.
this is where i live.
and they are my neighbors.
i am proud of them.

(http://blog.jinbo.net/dopehead)

For more informations please check out:

www.saveptfarmers.org

http://antigizi.or.kr

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"REBELLION IS JUSTIFIED"

毛主席同志

(*)

Today - 30 years ago - Comrade Chairman Mao Zedong died in Beijing.

For more(first) informations about him please check out here:

毛澤東紀念館 (http://mzd.chinaspirit.net.cn)

毛澤東 (http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/17/content_693606.htm)

毛澤東 (http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E6%B3%BD%E4%B8%9C)

Mao Zedong - Wikipedia

Mao Zedong -- A Great Man in China History

Later, at least in the coming days, I'll write more about it.

* All peoples of the world, unite, to overthrow American imperialism! To overthrow Soviet revisionism! To overthrow the reactionaries of all nations!

東方紅

[毛主席，爱人民...^^(**)]

** 东方红，太阳升，

中国出了个毛泽东。

他为人民谋幸福，

呼尔嗨哟，他是人民大救星！

毛主席，爱人民,

他是我们的带路人，

为了建设新中国，

呼尔嗨哟，领导我们向前进！

共产党，像太阳，

照到哪里哪里亮。

哪里有了共产党，

呼尔嗨哟，哪里人民得解放！

..

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"The Taepodong II missile is too small to reach the United States, but too big to be directed at South Korea."..

..he(Roh) said yesterday during a press conference in Helsinki, Finland

So, everything is fine - no problems on the Kor. Peninsula!!

And of course: "I think media speculation is.. the reasons that makes the issue more difficult.. It will only make many people worried and could also harm inter-Korean ties(*).", he said when he was asked about the danger of a possible NK nuclear test.

Yeah, when, after a(possible) nuclear test, the entire Kor. Peninsula is contaminated... its just the fault of the speculation of the media.. How stupid some one alone can be, to make such crazy statements??

Short before at the same press conference, when Roh was asked about the same issue he gave this answer: "Let me talk about the missile tests first. The Taepodong II missile is too small to reach the United States, but too big to be directed at South Korea." Harrharr.. what a b.. sh..!!!

This reminds me on a interview in 1984, E. Honecker, at that time the chairman of the State Council(president) of the former GDR(East Germany) gave to a West German news paper(it was reprinted in Neues Deutschland, the central daily of the ruling "Socialist Unity Party of Germany"). He was asked what he's thinking about the many(East German) people who want to leave the country(to the West). And he answered like that: "Yes, I know very well that many people all over the world recognize the GDR as a country which is struggling for peace and democracy."(and of course no word about the people who want to leave the GDR..).

* So finally the issue about a golf ressort in Gaeseong(for example) is more important as the issue of nuclear weapons/tests on the Kor. Peninsula - according to Mr Blabla!!

And BTW.. Don't worry, everything is fine!!

NO FURTHER COMMENT!!

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Former US gov't official: "If S.K. don't want us(USFK) here... then we can be out in a number of months"

For to get some good ammunition for the struggle against USFK we, sometimes, just should listen and use the stuff what we can get from the "enemy", like following.

Just yesterday I found it on the web site of the Daily NK magazine(of course certainly, Daily NK is complete reactionary, but how Lenin said: to fight the enemy we must study the enemy..^^).

Just check it out:

Chuck Downs is an U.S. author, independent consultant, and former Pentagon official who frequently appears on television news programs to discuss North Korea policy. He has held a number of important positions in government during his career, including Deputy Director for Regional Affairs and Congressional Relations in the Pentagon’s East Asia office and Assistant Director of the Office of Foreign Military Rights Affairs, where he was deeply involved in the planning and negotiation of key overseas basing agreements with foreign governments. He later served as Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Advisor to the House Policy Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He retired from government service in 2000.(Daily NK,9.06)

He gave Daily NK an interview with some very interesting contents.

"Q: There have been some rumors among Korea bloggers that in October, after the next talks on the future of the alliance, that an accelerated downsizing or even a full U.S. withdrawal from Korea could be announced. Have you heard those rumors? Do you think there’s anything to them?

A: I wouldn’t call them rumors. For a long time, there have been discussions between both countries on troop deployments. South Korea has resisted a fast timetable of reductions, but Secretary Rumsfeld wants these things to happen on a faster timetable. That’s what he has always said. I think Rumsfeld and his people still want to proceed on that accelerated path. So this is not a new push by Rumsfeld. Perhaps the reductions have recently become even more desirable from the point of view of the Pentagon.

It’s clear that the SK government wants to give lip service to the alliance, but its point of view is at odds with the basic rationale for the alliance. You can’t have an alliance when one side tries to portray the other as an oppressive presence. When this develops, as it did in the Philippines, there is no alternative but to accelerate the reduction in the American presence. The government in South Korea is now limiting us in ways that reduce our capabilities and change our obligations in a legal sense. In such situations, the U.S. tends to respond extremely quickly. When the host government isn’t stridently calling for us to stay and address a common threat, it’s hard for us to justify continuing the troop presence.

No one ever thought we’d leave the Philippines, either, but our presence is always based on how the host country views our forces. If the host country starts doing things like changing the basic command structure, it’s a fundamental shift in the way the alliance works. You will hear the U.S. side say that it will move quickly to do what the host government wants. You can’t do something good for the host government that the host doesn’t recognize as a good thing. We are not the Soviets and this isn’t the Warsaw Pact. We are not a colonial power. If the host country doesn’t want us there, we won’t stay.

Now, I don’t think this means a pull-out from Korea completely, but if we hear the South Korean government say that we are there to work for our own interests, but not theirs, then we can be out in a number of months.

When you are in a foreign country, that country is in charge. We never stay in a foreign country against that country’s will — ever. The Korean pro-U.S. right thinks we should be pushing against the Roh government, for arrangements that favor the U.S. That’s all fine, but it doesn’t work that way. We do what the government in place wants done. It’s the task of the Pro-Americans in South Korea to get their government to promote a strong alliance and arrangements that favor one. We won’t do something against their government’s objectives..."

...and so on

The entire interview(of course there is a lot of b.. sh.. in it, but also some interesting stuff..) you can read here:

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=1062

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A new attempt by the D.P.R.K. 

to undermine the S.K. society! (??^^)

Yesterday during the afternoon(CET) edition of CNN "World News Asia" I saw a very short report about a music group of "N.K. female defectors", getting a "growing enthusiastic" audience in S.K., especially in the "young female scene". The name of the band: Dallae(Music Group)/달래음악단.

Actually the music of the group wasn't really to understand in the contribution. So I was checking in the internet(google), but only on (f..) Voice of America I found something, but today it had already disappeared..

But finally in Hankyoreh I found a text(actually it was reprinted from Yonhap..).

Anyway here comes the music, on Korean searching machines I found several links (wow, it seems that the music taste in S.K. is getting a kind of "very strange"^^):

멋쟁이 by 달래음악단

Here

http://blog.naver.com/sjhan9?Redirect=Log&logNo=140028241131

you can watch the video clip(it's also very strange!!!)

And here the article from Hankyoreh/Yonhap:

N. Korean female defector band eyes stardom in the South
 
Although their debut album has not been released yet, the Dallae Music Band is already upbeat, hoping to hit it big. The five-woman band, all North Korean defectors, has made a string of media appearances at home and abroad and signed with Seoul's leading entertainment firm.

While anything related to North Korea sounds off-key to the highly commercialized South Korean entertainment world, the young women believe they have their own specialty to show -- North Korea-style music and dance.

"Some say, 'What can North Korean defectors do?'," Kang Yu-eun, 19, who plays accordion for the band, said.

"When we hear that label, defectors, about us, our hearts get heavy," she said, "We want to show we are from the North and that we have dance and music to show."

Kang and the four other members, aged 19 through 28, are trying to succeed in the local entertainment industry with their artistic talent developed in the North. Working from 6 a.m. to midnight and sometimes sleeping at their training home in southern Seoul, they dream of becoming famous - minus the label of a "defector band."

The band's debut album is to be released next month with the title song "Dandy," a sweet love song that combines the South Korean trendy fox-trot genre with North Korean high-pitched singing style and is presented with cute choreography borrowed from North Korea. The song sounds like a North Korean song, not with propaganda lyrics but phrases like "100 years is not enough for your love for me" or "Sharalala, my love, you're my dandy."

Having defected from the North over the past several years, they are reluctant to say where they came from or why they left because of fear of persecution of their relatives. Some have changed their names.

Han Ok-jeong, the oldest member and lead vocalist, who sang for the propaganda band of the North's Workers' Party until she defected in 1998, says the members want to leave their past behind and rebuild their lives here. Even the sight of a movie set built to look like Panmunjom, where they recently went to shoot a music video, was painful, she said Panmunjom is the truce village inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.

"We are laughing and making jokes here in Panmunjom, but if we were really there, we just can't. It's a place of pain," she said during a rehearsal for the filming of the band's music video at Seoul Studio Complex in Namyangju, northeast of Seoul, where there are recreations of the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom and traditional Korean houses.

One of the biggest differences they face in the South is language. Although language does not seem to be a problem for defectors in the South, they are often embarrassed to hear lots of English words used in the entertainment world. Words like "ready," "action" and "go" are still new to them.

Unlike most South Korean bands that use English names, their band name "Dallae" is a pure Korean word -- a wild berry that ripens in the spring -- something warm and sweet that they hope will help thaw relations between the peoples of the South and the North.

Kim Yong-cheol, their manager from Orange Entertainment, said Dallae may be the first of its kind in the South, where North Korean defectors mostly live outside the mainstream, but not the last.

"Someday we will see South Korean singers perform with North Korean orchestras, and vice versa. Just we are seeing that a little earlier. A band like this won't be uncommon," he said.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/143380.html

逃到韩国北韩女子组成独特乐队

PS:

To my comrades from Suomi/FIN who will likely visit very soon the D.P.R.K.: You must take many copies of this stuff with you and try to sell it in P.Y.(try it on the black market/"jang-madang", just ask for it.. harrharr..)!!! Or at least you must learn this song - remember, they will force you to sing a song..

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"Updates from Daechuri

Preparations for Massive March September 24

Residents and supporters in Daechuri enjoyed a short-lived celebration earlier this week. The ultra-conservative Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the US military had decided to completely revise their master plan for base expansion. That wouldn't change the overall shift in US forces (unfortunately), but a revised master plan could mean that Doduri and Daechuri would be spared from displacement. But later that day, the Korean Ministry of Defense rejected the article as groundless. The USFK (US Forces in Korea) also denied any changes in their plans. Still, some activists and residents hope that the USFK really are considering changing the original base expansion plan designed by US military engineers.  If they were, they certainly wouldn't want the news to get out, to avoid encouraging residents and supporters. Hopefully this article is a sign the USFK and the Korean government are seriously weighing the costs of pushing through the base expansion as it now stands, and that with enough outside pressure and continued resistance on the ground in Pyeongtaek, they will leave the communities untouched.

In Daechuri and Doduri, resistance continues full force.  September 1st marked two-years since dozens of residents were beaten and arrested outside a bogus public hearing set up by the Ministry of Defense. Since their first candlelight vigil to demand freedom for those arrested, they have continued to hold their candlelight vigils every night in the villages. For the second anniversary vigil, the supporters living in the villages presented a song and a "struggle in Pyeongtaek crossword puzzle". Residents and supporters watched the "Sound of the Fields", a community-run program presented every night at the vigil, that shows daily life and resistance in Daechuri and Doduri.

I came to Daechuri for the first time last Sunday. Since then, I have been living in one of many empty houses that have been cleaned and renovated by residents and supporters. Over 20 supporters from around Korea have moved to Daechuri and Doduri and have reclaimed houses that were abandoned by those residents who chose not to stay in the villages. The idea is partly to make it harder for the government to demolish those houses as a first step toward demolishing the entire village. The house where I've been staying is being converted into a "human rights center", with murals and banners around different human rights themes in each room.

The government has announced that the village will be completely destroyed by the end of October. But Daechuri doesn't give the impression of a place under a death sentence, or a village that has accepted its fate. Even though the state has blocked access to their fields and destroyed their greenhouse, residents are planting cabbage and radishes now in their gardens. The cabbage, used to make the Korean dish Kimchi, will be ready to harvest in November.

Last winter, residents declared autonomy and renounced their Korean citizenship. Beyond the powerful symbolic impact, the residents enforce their rejection of the Korean state in some small but very concrete ways. When a Korean military truck wanted to pass through the town one day last week, I saw a few residents lay a blockade across the road and stand in front of the truck. Eventually the soldiers were forced to turn around and leave. The villagers refuse to willingly let the institution that has attacked them, and that wants to destroy them, into their town.

The towns, along with a range of Korean social movements that make up the KCPT, are busy preparing a massive national march in Seoul on September 24.  The KCPT has called for solidarity actions abroad(in the U.S., the U.S. Pyeongtaek committee is organizing demonstrations, and a number of groups have issued solidarity statements)."

http://www.anarclan.net (Anarclan English Board, "Update from Daechuri..")

*****

But finally it's not really clear for me, what will be happen on 9.24 in Seoul and on 9.23, also in Seoul!!??? For 9.23 the "National Anti-war Movement" is calling for a "massive" rally, starting at Seoul Stn.. And what's the next day? (Sorry that I don't understand, that I'm a little confused..^^) 

*****

RESIST!

An International Peace March to

STOP the U.S. Military Base Expansion

in Pyeongtaek!

*****

For more infos about Daechuri/Pyeongtaek please check out:

http://www.saveptfarmers.org

http://antigizi.or.kr

..and about the anti-war rally/demo on 9.23:

http://www.antiwar.or.kr

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Government's threats led to the end/collapse of the strike of

power plant workers

Power company workers end strike, returning to work (Yonhap)

Unionized workers at South Korea's state-run power companies ended their strike Monday, just 15 hours after they walked off the job to press for improved working conditions and other demands.

The strike of the Korean Power Plant Industry Union began at 1:30 a.m. Monday as the workers failed to reach an agreement with management on demands for better working conditions and the reinstatement of fired colleagues.

The 6,500-member-union representing different regions of the nation -- Korea Midland Power Co., Korea Namdong Electrics, Korea Western Power Co., Korea Southern Power Co. and Korea East-West Power Co. -- had also demanded the government merge them into a single power company, remove a wage cap for workers and introduce a three-shift work system.

The government and management both rebuffed the demands.

"We've decided to withdraw our strike for strategic purposes," said union leader Lee Joon-sang. "We will resume negotiations with management in a bid to eventually achieve our demands."

Lee expressed concern over mounting discontent from the public over the walkout. "We understand people's worries about power plant operations," said Lee. "We were afraid that we could be misunderstood as taking the electricity supplies hostage," until our demands were met, he said, stressing that this was not the case.

The strike came despite the National Labor Relations Commission's decision on Sunday to have the government arbitrate the labor dispute, which defines any strike during the arbitration period illegal.

The move by the labor commission automatically makes it mandatory for workers to suspend any strike for 15 days pending further negotiations. If no breakthrough is made at the talks, both labor and management must accept an arbitration ruling by the commission.

Around 2,200 unionists staged a rally in downtown Seoul on Sunday, and moved to the Korea University campus where they stayed overnight.

As of 1:00 p.m. Monday, nearly 40 percent of the companies' workers participated in the strike, but power plants around the country operated without problems with management filling vacant posts with temporary workers, the government said.

The government and management warned of disciplinary action for those who did not end the illegal strike by 1 p.m.

Police have sought the arrest of 20 union leaders who organized the walkout.

This is the second strike by local power company employees, after the five regional power companies were created by the splitting up of state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp. in 2001. The previous 32-day walkout in 2002 also did not cause any disruptions in electricity generation.
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060904/620000000020060904174834E2.html

Power Union Ends Strike (K. Times)

Unionists of the nation’s power companies ended their half-day walkout voluntarily Monday afternoon and all of the members will return to work from Tuesday.

The decision came out as the government takes a hard-line stance against their demands and management agreed to talk further with the union on the remaining issues.

The union, with about 65,000 members at five companies under the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), announced the decision three hours after they started a full-scale strike.

The decision came hours before the government threatened to invoke its emergency arbitration power to ban them from striking for 15 days and police moved to arrest 20 union leaders.

``We’ve decided to end the strike and resume a negotiation with the management,’’ Lee Jun-sang, head of the union, said at a park near the Korea University in northern Seoul, where about 2,200 workers from regional companies nationwide were gathered for a sit-in.

Early in the morning yesterday, presidents of the five companies warned the striking workers to return to work by 1 p.m. According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, more than 60 percent of unionists returned to work by that time. The remaining striking workers also began to return to workplaces after the announcement of scrapping the walkout.

Earlier, the power companies filed complaints against some 20 union leaders for the illegal strike, and said they would file compensation suits against the unionists. The police also planned to request arrest warrants for the leaders.

The union said they had sought the planned strike, as the management did not actively negotiate with the workers but waited for the government’s arbitration decision.

The unionized workers are demanding the KEPCO to consolidate the five regional companies into one, increase the number of workers, allow senior workers to participate in union activity, and abolish a cap on the rates of annual wage increases.

The company, however, confirmed their position not to accept the demands.

``Their call for the consolidation of firms is against the government’s policy to enhance power industry’s competitiveness, and it is beyond the subject of labor-management negotiation,’’ CEOs of the five companies said during a press briefing at the KEPCO headquarters in southern Seoul.

They also said they cannot allow senior workers’ union participation, as walkout by the seniors, in charge of core control at power plants, would bring about a total disruption of power supply.

Following the unionists’ walkout, 3,500 alternative workers have run the power plants. The power supply has not been disrupted.

In 2002, the power union staged a strike for 38 days.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200609/kt2006090417423010440.htm

Minjung-ui Sori(Voice of People) wrote following(there you can see also a video about the declaration of the end of the strike):

발전노조, 사측의 교섭제의에 파업중단

Following documentary was recorded in the night between yesterday and today in Goryeo/Korea Univ(to watch it, please click on "play").

Documentary by 숲속홍길동同志

PS: In my opinion this result - the end of the strike - isn't just caused by the threats of the gov't.. It might be also a result of a kind of weakness of the S.K. labour movement/KCTU.

And I think also that such "tactics"(by KCTU) are very dangerous for the next actions by the S.K. labour movement.. (That's just MY opinion!!)

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for the german stuff please check out:

http://blog.jinbo.net/imho/?pid=595#more_anchor595

PS: The(German) text - it's the same like the last song on "imho's" contribution(W. Biermann) - of the song is more a kind of simple[pretty stupid(??)] "revolution romance"..^^