Tag Archives: korea

International, U.S.

World War 3, Asia-Pacific Front: U.S. Army cuts will not apply to units poised for war with China!

27 June 2013 (20:09 UTC-07 Tango 26 June 2013)/18 Sha’ban 1434/06 Tir 1391/20 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

The U.S. Army is reducing its size over the next four years.  However, U.S. Army units operating in the Asia-Pacific Theater of War (APTW) will not be affected.  It seems U.S. DoD officials have other plans for those Army personnel.

Only two U.S. Army Brigades in the European Theater of War will be cut.   Brigades in the U.S. states of Washington, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Kentucky and Georgia will be de-activated.

U.S. Army officials say the reductions are the result of the Budget Control Act of 2011.  APTW Brigades will be enhanced with equipment and personnel from those Brigades that are de-activated.

International, U.S.

World War 3, Asia-Pacific Front: Obama increasing military personnel in Australia! Japan & Canada increases wargames in California, preps for war with China!

14 June 2013 (12:10 UTC-07 Tango)/05 Sha’ban 1434/24 Khordad 1391/07 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

It’s been revealed that President Barack Obama is increasing the number of U.S. Marines occupying Australia.

Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, announced that they’ve agreed to allow 1150 U.S. Marines to be deployed in the city of Darwin next year.  Currently about 200 Marines spend six months a year, in the Darwin area, playing army with Aussie Diggers.  There are other U.S. military personnel stationed elsewhere in Australia.

In 2011 Obama announced he would be stationing at least 2500 Marines and U.S. Air Force airmen in Australia.

Analysts point out that the city of Darwin has a strategic advantage to quickly deploy troops against China!

In the U.S. state of California, it was revealed that for the first time ever all three branches of the Japanese Self Defense Forces are taking part in a major war game with U.S. Marines, Canadian navy and New Zealand.  Officials from Australia and Singapore are observing operation Dawn Blitz 2013.

The war games began this past week, and involve (as in recent smaller war games with U.S. Marines) the invasion and capture of islands.  If you’ve been following news out of East Asia you’d know that Japan and China are at odds over certain islands, even threatening war over them.

The U.S. sponsored Dawn Blitz wargames began in 2010, which is about when Japan began ratcheting up their claims on disputed islands.  Recently Japan took over a island and China is demanding it be returned to them.

Japanese claims are upsetting not only China, but Russia, Korea (both north & U.S. ally south) and even U.S. ally Taiwan.  The Obama administration has repeatedly stated they support Japan’s claims on the disputed islands.

International

SFTS update: More deaths! Finally proof that it’s Vampire Spiders!

28 May 2013 (11:23 UTC-07 Tango)/18 Rajab 1434/07 Khordad 1391/19 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

A third person has now died, possibly of SFTS (Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome) in Korea.  Lab results are taking a long time to confirm whether or not the victims had SFTS.  He was suffering from fever, stomach problems and septicemia.  These symptoms could also been associated with meningitis.

The second Korean to die did so on 16 May, and has finally been confirmed to have been infected with SFTS.  He was a cattle farmer and reports say his body was covered in tick (a type of blood sucking spider/arachnid) bites.

The first Korean to die did so in August 2012.  She was only recently confirmed to have SFTS.  It took several blood tests to confirm SFTS.  She was bitten by a tick in July 2012.  One month later she suffered fever and stomach problems.  The tick bite had not healed and began swelling.  She died four days after being transferred to Seoul National University Hospital.

In Japan, at least 15 people have been infected, and eight have died from SFTS.  However, researchers were having trouble connecting the disease to ticks, because they couldn’t find any that were carrying the virus.  Finally, this past week they found a tiny 3mm tick on the latest human victim.  The tick tested positive for SFTS.

The last reports out of China said researchers were also having problems making definitive connections between ticks and humans, but assumed it was being caused by ticks.

Here’s the rub; as I’ve posted before, it seems this SFTS is evolving independently in the different countries where it’s being found (it evolved from the bunyavirus).  Japanese researchers have pointed out that their SFTS is slightly different than the SFTS in China.

The infected tick just found in Japan is reported to be the Haemaphysalis longicornis tick.  The same tick associated with Lyme disease.

Unconfirmed reports say SFTS has also been found in the Rhipicephalus microplus tick.  This tick was supposedly eradicated from the United States, but is still found in Mexico, Central America and parts of Austral/Asia and east Africa.

Breaking news update as of February 2019: Longhorn ticks are making their way back to North America! 

Influenza

H7N9 / Bird Flu update: Mexico hit! Thousands of humans carriers? North Korea kills 160000!

20 May 2013 (14:01 UTC-07 Tango)/10 Rajab 1434/30 Ordibehest 1392/11 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea reporting that H5N1 bird flu has struck their poultry industry hard.  They’ve had to cull (kill) 160000 ducks, at just one Pyongyang duck farm, to try and stop the spread of the virus.  United Nations health officials were notified.

Here’s some more news to make you more fearful of the creation of new biological weapons: Chen Hualan, of China’s Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, has discovered a single gene that can make bird flus easily become deadly human flus.  She found that one of two genes from the human version of H1N1 made the bird flu H5N1 infectious to animals other than birds.

Vietnam recently declared their H5N1 epidemic fini.  Health officials report no new cases in birds or humans for the past 21 days, thanks to efforts to cull or vaccinate tens of thousands of birds.  Since 2003, 62 people in Vietnam died from H5N1, the most recent being a four years old boy in April.  123 people got sick.

Animal health officials in Nepal have been culling poultry, as two new H5N1 outbreaks hit Kathmandu.  Outbreak response teams are overstretched and officials said they are unable to respond to the latest outbreak.

Indonesia has been put on warning for new H7N9 infections.  Researchers at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture studied how farmers keep their livestock, and concluded that current Indonesian livestock practices have the potential “….to facilitate the spread of the H7N9 virus.” 

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission claims that no new cases of H7N9 ‘bird’ flu have been reported.  However, in a joint study by  National Health and Family Planning Commission, and the UN World Health Organization, researchers are now concerned that not only has the virus evolved to spread human to human, but that possibly thousands of people are now carriers, showing little or no symptoms.

The Mexican state of Puebla has been hit with H7N3.   The National Service of Health, Food Safety and Food Quality say the source is laying chickens brought in from surrounding states.  So far 55000 chickens have been culled.  33 million doses of vaccine have been issued.  The United Nations has been notified.

 

International

World War 3, East Asian Front: North Korea launches two more missiles!

20 May 2013 (13:15 UTC-07 Tango)/10 Rajab 1434/30 Ordibehest 1391/11 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

“North Korea again launched a short range projectile that appears to be a KN-02 missile.”-Republic of Korea Defense Ministry

“The launches are part of ordinary drills.  We are exercising our legitimate right as a sovereign nation.”-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea statement

South Korean officials say all the missiles launched over the past three days, traveled about 120 kilometers (74.5 miles).  That’s the range claimed by North Korea for its new KN-02 short range ballistic missile.  DPRK also claims they can arm the KN-02 with tactical nukes.

The DPRK recently slammed the United States saying the rhetoric coming from Washington DC “…reminds one of a thief crying ‘Stop the thief!'”

International

World War 3, East Asian Front: North Korea continues artillery rocket testing! South deploys new missiles!

19 May 2013 (08:40 UTC-07 Tango)/09 Rajab 1434/29 Ordibehest 1391/10 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

“We have recently deployed scores of Spike missiles and vehicles to carry them to the border islands…..In case of a contingency, the missiles can destroy the artillery hidden in caverns and is capable of searching for and striking mobile targets as well.”-Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff announcement

South Korean (RoK) Defense officials say North Korea (DPRK) has launched more “projectiles” into the Sea of Japan.  The RoK officials are not sure if the projectiles are guided missiles, or unguided rockets.

Republic of Korea has deployed Israeli made Spike missiles, to counter any threat from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The Spike missiles cost about $268456 each.

The current U.S. general in charge of U.S. Forces Korea will retire.  President Obama has nominated Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, the former deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to take over USFK.

International

Another new killer virus you never heard of: SFTS, 30% kill rate? Stop blaming ticks! Where is it coming from?

18 May 2013 (11:11 UTC-07 Tango)/08 Rajab 1434/28 Ordibehest 1391/09 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

Today, the (south) Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five people are showing signs of SFTS, but so far have tested negative.

One person has died, two in critical condition and two considered to be recovering.  More testing has been done, with results expected next week.

Since 2009 the new killer virus, with an estimated kill rate of 12% to 30%, has been spreading(?) from China.  It’s called Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, and is thought to originate with mites/ticks.

It’s known that at least 200 people in China were infected.  97% of infections were in farmers living in grasslands and it’s assumed they got sick from ixodid ticks in their region.   However, rat mites and household dust mites do not appear to carry SFTS.

It took until 2011 before researchers identified the new virus.  Chinese researchers did admit they could not find direct connection between ticks and human infections, they only assumed the connection because most sick people live in areas with high tick/mite populations.

It was also noted that many farmers’ livestock were infected, yet there was no indication of SFTS being passed from livestock to humans.  In one example; the majority of goat herds tested showed infection, yet most of the people infected were not involved with goat farming, and only one goat herder got infected.

Then, at the beginning of this year cases were reported in Japan, at least five people died.  Several of those deaths happened at the end of 2012, but it took awhile before scientist identified the cause.   By the end of February more than 30 possible cases were being investigated.  By the end of April there were 11 confirmed cases.

Here’s the problem in Japan; unlike in China where researchers were able to trace (by assumption) the SFTS to ticks/mites, in Japan no tick has been found infected with SFTS.  Japanese researchers do not know how humans are getting infected.

Also, officials with Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases say the SFTS in their country is slightly different than the one in China.  It appears the virus is undergoing independent evolution in different Asian locations.

Health officials are warning that SFTS causes high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, consciousness degradation, elevated liver enzymes, multiple organ failure, thrombocytopenia (low blood platelets), leukopenia (low white blood cells) and death.

China has reported a new case, in Zhejiang Province.  A man checked into a hospital with fever and bleeding gums.  On 15 May he was confirmed to have SFTS.  It’s unknown how he got sick, he was not bitten by ticks or mites.

In 2010 there were studies suggesting the new SFTS is a human to human virus.

There is no vaccine or treatment for SFTS.

International

World War 3, East Asian Front: North Korea launches missiles towards Japan!

18 May 2013 (10:25 UTC-07 Tango)/08 Rajab 1434/28 Ordibehest 1391/09 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

The South Korean Defense Ministry reporting that three short range missiles were launched from North Korea, splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

Republic of Korea (ROK) analysts think they could be test firings of anti-ship missiles, or the new KN-02 missile.

I posted back in March that Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would launch KN-02 missiles as proof of their claims to be able to strike with tactical nukes.

The Japanese government says they are investigating the reports from the ROK.

International, U.S.

World War 3, War on Terror: So they killed bin Laden? So what! U.S. says the war will go on for 20 more years!

17 May 2013 (10:22 UTC-07 Tango)/07 Rajab 1434/27 Ordibehest 1391/08 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

“This is the most disturbing hearing I’ve been to in some time.  You guys have rewritten the Constitution today!  You guys have invented this term, ‘associated forces’, that’s nowhere in this document.  It’s the justification for everything, and it renders the war powers of Congress null and void!“-Angus King, U.S. Senator from Maine, upon hearing the U.S. Defense Department’s plans to continue the War on Terror

A year ago John Brennan, U.S. CIA boss, said “…the al Qaeda core is no longer relavant.”  Two months ago James Clapper, director of U.S. National Intelligence, testified to the U.S. Senate saying al Qaeda is “…probably unable to carryout large scale, complex attacks on the west.”  But, just a couple days ago Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said the U.S. led War on Terror will last another “…10 to 20 years.”

Senator John McCain revealed one of the new fronts in the War on Terror: “…North Africa…”

Sheehan also revealed a new front in the War on Terror, the United States, when he said the War on Terror stretches “…from Boston to the FATA [Pakistan].”

 

International

More reasons to avoid vaccines: Vietnam bans vaccine after children die!

09 May 2013 (13:14 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Jumada t-Tania 1434/19 Ordibehest 1391/30 Ding-Si (3rd month) 4711

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has temporarily banned the vaccine Quinvaxem.   Since Novmeber 2012 nine infants have died from the vaccine.

The vaccine is made by a capitalist South Korean company, and is marketed as a preventative for diphtheria (D), tetanus (T), pertussis (P, whooping cough), hepatitis B (HepB) and Type B flu (Hib).

The UN World Health Organization is investigating.  According to Vietnamese news media, all the babies that died were healthy before getting the vaccine. They died violently less than 24 hours after getting the shot: “…they began wailing loudly, convulsed, and had serious trouble breathing, before passing away…”-Tuoitrenews

Of interest, the Hanoi Preventive Health Center stopped using Quinvaxem early in 2012, because they were concerned about the high death rate of children getting the shot.  The only investigation done, back then, was to make sure the vaccine ingredients were not compromised and that it was being stored properly, not if the vaccine itself was the cause of death.  So far, there has not been evidence established of allergic reaction to the vaccine.

In March 2013 health officials in Lam Dong Province stopped the use of Quinvaxem, after a four months old boy died.  He developed fever, then was found dead the next morning.

While Quinvaxem is made in South Korea, it was pushed into use by the Netherlands based pharmaceutical company Crucell, in 2006.

Since 2010, Quinvaxem has been distributed in Vietnam for free by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, through UNICEF.  It’s starting to look like the people of Vietnam are being used as guinea pigs for new vaccines.