Great shots … Army 2005
Happy New Year
31 December 2005
30 December 2005
SOME STUFF IS JUST TOO WEIRD
Well that respite from LRRP's World lasted at LEAST 10 minutes. Check this out: This guy in New Zealand gets hit in the head by the blade of a helicopter and …. Full Story
Mother Nature Has The Last Word
Tropical Storm Zeta warning from the NWS National Hurricane Center — we kid you not!
“AT 5 PM AST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ZETA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 25.3 NORTH... LONGITUDE 37.3 WEST OR ABOUT 1065
MILES...1715 KM... SOUTHWEST OF THE AZORES.
ZETA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 7 MPH
...11 KM/HR. A TURN TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH... 85 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN TOMORROW.
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES
...140 KM FROM THE CENTER.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1000 MB...29.53 INCHES.”
That’s it. I promise. Happy New Year.
Mother Nature Has The Last Word
Tropical Storm Zeta warning from the NWS National Hurricane Center — we kid you not!
“AT 5 PM AST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ZETA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 25.3 NORTH... LONGITUDE 37.3 WEST OR ABOUT 1065
MILES...1715 KM... SOUTHWEST OF THE AZORES.
ZETA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 7 MPH
...11 KM/HR. A TURN TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH... 85 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN TOMORROW.
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES
...140 KM FROM THE CENTER.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1000 MB...29.53 INCHES.”
That’s it. I promise. Happy New Year.
HAPPY 2006
With the aforementioned holiday proviso that nothing drives me to bang my head against a brick wall this weekend, I — like the rest of the working world — am taking the next two or three days off.
May the Giants win Saturday night, may the ball drop on time (be it a second late, atomically speaking, or not) and may all of you have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve, a minimal headache on January 1, 2006, and success and happiness for the following 364 days.
Oh ... and watch out for the amateurs!
Happy New Year … whoop-dee-doo!
May the Giants win Saturday night, may the ball drop on time (be it a second late, atomically speaking, or not) and may all of you have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve, a minimal headache on January 1, 2006, and success and happiness for the following 364 days.
Oh ... and watch out for the amateurs!
Happy New Year … whoop-dee-doo!
WATERBOARDING?
You’ve got to respect Senator John McCain’s take on torture. He and all the other Nam-era POWs went through the wringer and then some. I’ve been to the Hoa Lo Prison (the infamous Hanoi Hilton) so I find it difficult — at best — to disagree with him or any other POW’s stance on interrogation and torture.
No, it’s not something civilized people should have to do, but sometimes … well, I’m sorry, but sometimes you need to find things out and politely asking questions just won’t cut it.
As for the big ado about what is for some reason now called waterboarding.
I’ve been subject to this particular brand of torture, and even though it was done as a sort of “introduction” to the finer arts of what one can expect if captured — in other words, mentally you knew, or at least were pretty sure, you weren’t going to die — it ain’t fun.
Next time you’re in your shower, put a wet face rag tightly over your mouth and nose and try to breathe. Then let the water run over it and try to breathe. That’s pretty much what “waterboarding” feels like. Not fun, you DO feel like you’re drowning (I’ve been — unfortunately — close to that sensation as well), and if your hands are tied and you’re blindfolded … well, you’ll be pretty anxious to end the session as soon as possible. (Remember, that in most cases, our POWs in Nam were being tortured for the sake of being tortured, not for information.)
But if you need to know something that may save lives, well … it’s not exactly as if our enemy in the war on terror are uniformed combatants. They’re cowards who dress as civilians, and use civilians as cover, soooo ….
Do we have a responsibility to ensure that rampant S&M doesn’t take place against enemy personnel ? Certainly. Should we take a higher moral plane (nice pun!) than the enemy? That’s an ethical question that begs to be described as “situational ethics” in my opinion.
War is war and it sucks no matter the reason for it. While it brings out the best in men, it also brings out that dormant primitive savagery that resides in the protoreptilian knob on the tops of all our spines. It’s the good, the bad and the ugly.
I’d also like to add that I’d be willing to bet large sums of money that any inmate of a facility such as Lompoc, Attica, etc., would be more than willing to change places with any resident of places like Gitmo or Abu Grahib … in a heartbeat.
No, it’s not something civilized people should have to do, but sometimes … well, I’m sorry, but sometimes you need to find things out and politely asking questions just won’t cut it.
As for the big ado about what is for some reason now called waterboarding.
I’ve been subject to this particular brand of torture, and even though it was done as a sort of “introduction” to the finer arts of what one can expect if captured — in other words, mentally you knew, or at least were pretty sure, you weren’t going to die — it ain’t fun.
Next time you’re in your shower, put a wet face rag tightly over your mouth and nose and try to breathe. Then let the water run over it and try to breathe. That’s pretty much what “waterboarding” feels like. Not fun, you DO feel like you’re drowning (I’ve been — unfortunately — close to that sensation as well), and if your hands are tied and you’re blindfolded … well, you’ll be pretty anxious to end the session as soon as possible. (Remember, that in most cases, our POWs in Nam were being tortured for the sake of being tortured, not for information.)
But if you need to know something that may save lives, well … it’s not exactly as if our enemy in the war on terror are uniformed combatants. They’re cowards who dress as civilians, and use civilians as cover, soooo ….
Do we have a responsibility to ensure that rampant S&M doesn’t take place against enemy personnel ? Certainly. Should we take a higher moral plane (nice pun!) than the enemy? That’s an ethical question that begs to be described as “situational ethics” in my opinion.
War is war and it sucks no matter the reason for it. While it brings out the best in men, it also brings out that dormant primitive savagery that resides in the protoreptilian knob on the tops of all our spines. It’s the good, the bad and the ugly.
I’d also like to add that I’d be willing to bet large sums of money that any inmate of a facility such as Lompoc, Attica, etc., would be more than willing to change places with any resident of places like Gitmo or Abu Grahib … in a heartbeat.
UPDATES – PRE 2006
ROKs Cutting Down
South Korea will be cutting its Iraq troop strength by a third in 2006. The withdrawal equals about 1,000 of the 3,200 ROKs working in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq.
I never worked directly with the ROKs in Viet Nam, but I did work near them one time, and my team spent more time making sure we didn’t get near the ROK’s AO than we did looking for NVA. They were some savage bastards, and I use that phrase with mucho admiration. Nobody messed with ROK infantry who employed a certain — shall we say — brevity when it came to ascertaining “body counts.” They only brought back heads to count.
Gitmo Redux
Apparently 46 of the jihadist scum in the Gitmo lockup have joined a hunger strike, bringing the number to 84. Die … all 84 of you. And a Happy F-----g New Year as you do.
Duh! Redux
A recent Pew Foundation (I’m not real fond of their politics) study surmised that men and women use the Internet differently. And we had to have a study to find out men and women did something ELSE differently because why?
New Gaza Gang?
The British family of an aid worker was kidnapped along with the aid-worker daughter earlier in the week in Palestine. This sounds like a ransom for money thingee, different from jihadist ransom-for-money thingees, because EVERYbody in the neighborhood says they are looking to get the family back. This includes Palestinian police, terrorists like the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Hamas (both body exploders), etc. Either that or there’s a new gang working the Gaza.
Duh! Redux Redux
Midwives shouldn’t decide when to push a baby out, the mother should. So says a report from UT’s Southwestern Medical Center that appeared in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Let me get this straight. You’re trying to pass a bowling ball through an orifice that ain’t exactly the biggest thing in the world, and you’re gonna rely on someone who ISN’T passing the bowling ball to tell you when to do it?
You may as well rely on a man … and you know DAMN well, if we were having babies the only population EXplosion would be an IMplosion.
South Korea will be cutting its Iraq troop strength by a third in 2006. The withdrawal equals about 1,000 of the 3,200 ROKs working in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq.
I never worked directly with the ROKs in Viet Nam, but I did work near them one time, and my team spent more time making sure we didn’t get near the ROK’s AO than we did looking for NVA. They were some savage bastards, and I use that phrase with mucho admiration. Nobody messed with ROK infantry who employed a certain — shall we say — brevity when it came to ascertaining “body counts.” They only brought back heads to count.
Gitmo Redux
Apparently 46 of the jihadist scum in the Gitmo lockup have joined a hunger strike, bringing the number to 84. Die … all 84 of you. And a Happy F-----g New Year as you do.
Duh! Redux
A recent Pew Foundation (I’m not real fond of their politics) study surmised that men and women use the Internet differently. And we had to have a study to find out men and women did something ELSE differently because why?
New Gaza Gang?
The British family of an aid worker was kidnapped along with the aid-worker daughter earlier in the week in Palestine. This sounds like a ransom for money thingee, different from jihadist ransom-for-money thingees, because EVERYbody in the neighborhood says they are looking to get the family back. This includes Palestinian police, terrorists like the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Hamas (both body exploders), etc. Either that or there’s a new gang working the Gaza.
Duh! Redux Redux
Midwives shouldn’t decide when to push a baby out, the mother should. So says a report from UT’s Southwestern Medical Center that appeared in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Let me get this straight. You’re trying to pass a bowling ball through an orifice that ain’t exactly the biggest thing in the world, and you’re gonna rely on someone who ISN’T passing the bowling ball to tell you when to do it?
You may as well rely on a man … and you know DAMN well, if we were having babies the only population EXplosion would be an IMplosion.
29 December 2005
DOH!
Here’s how Times magazine sees yesterday’s Galileo GPS satellite launch: “... Galileo, designed to challenge the domination of the U.S. military's GPS …”
Now, their science writer — I would hope — wrote this, and it's still wrong.
We’ve been waiting for this to happen since back when OUR positioning sats were launched in the early 90s. There were supposed to be three systems: ours, the Russians and an Asian system. With the increasing use of GPS for everything from atomic clock timing to bank withdrawals and cellphone calling, we’d welcome ANYbody who will decrease the load.
It isn’t designed to challenge jack doo-doo. It is, was and will be designed to increase GPS coverage. Period.
Now, their science writer — I would hope — wrote this, and it's still wrong.
We’ve been waiting for this to happen since back when OUR positioning sats were launched in the early 90s. There were supposed to be three systems: ours, the Russians and an Asian system. With the increasing use of GPS for everything from atomic clock timing to bank withdrawals and cellphone calling, we’d welcome ANYbody who will decrease the load.
It isn’t designed to challenge jack doo-doo. It is, was and will be designed to increase GPS coverage. Period.
FINALLY!!!
I told you all it would take is some time. Okay … I finally figured out how to set links into text, so you faithful readers will now but have to click and go when I mention another site.
It was waaaay too easy to do, and as usual I was trying to make it waaaay too complicated.
But — barring any HTML misspellings on my part — the normal “click on link” system should work from now on.
Whew.
It was waaaay too easy to do, and as usual I was trying to make it waaaay too complicated.
But — barring any HTML misspellings on my part — the normal “click on link” system should work from now on.
Whew.
MORE MEDIA MALFEASANCE
Just read a disturbing yet very interesting account called “The Truth About Gitmo.” It’s a reprint in the January 2006 issue of The American Legion magazine taken from a September 2005 issue of The American Enterprise (TAE) magazine. It’s written by a former SF senior officer named Gordon Cucullu.
(The full article can be found at (search for author's name): TAE Mag
The article was disturbing for what it described as happening to the troops at Gitmo when responding to assaults by prisoners. The incidents quoted were obtained by the Associated Press wire service in a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) action, but I’ll be damned if I’ve heard about them in ANY media.
In one case guards, responding to one of their number having a tooth knocked out by a detainee — who then began to bite him — attacked the detainee and one guard smacked him twice in the head with a handheld radio. The guard was demoted to PFC for the smacks. In another incident an MP who was showered with toilet water returned fire with a hose. He was charged with assault. Another was disciplined for cursing at detainees, another punched a detainee after being punched and spit at by the prisoner; he lost a month’s pay, got extra duty for 45 days and was reduced to E-4.
Believe me: these camel-fornicating bastards — the majority are Saudis, by the way — are the real-deal terrorist wise and should be taken out and accidentally shot during live-fire demos.
Now … the ongoing question: has this appeared in the media? Or do we have to hear about the terrible American interrogation centers being set up all around the world some more?
Damn.
(The full article can be found at (search for author's name): TAE Mag
The article was disturbing for what it described as happening to the troops at Gitmo when responding to assaults by prisoners. The incidents quoted were obtained by the Associated Press wire service in a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) action, but I’ll be damned if I’ve heard about them in ANY media.
In one case guards, responding to one of their number having a tooth knocked out by a detainee — who then began to bite him — attacked the detainee and one guard smacked him twice in the head with a handheld radio. The guard was demoted to PFC for the smacks. In another incident an MP who was showered with toilet water returned fire with a hose. He was charged with assault. Another was disciplined for cursing at detainees, another punched a detainee after being punched and spit at by the prisoner; he lost a month’s pay, got extra duty for 45 days and was reduced to E-4.
Believe me: these camel-fornicating bastards — the majority are Saudis, by the way — are the real-deal terrorist wise and should be taken out and accidentally shot during live-fire demos.
Now … the ongoing question: has this appeared in the media? Or do we have to hear about the terrible American interrogation centers being set up all around the world some more?
Damn.
MORE MISSPENT MONEY
I told you about the Department of Defense’s (DoD) propensity for distributing tons of cash incentives for NOT fulfilling contracts, and you haven’t seen a peep about that in the mass media. Well, here’s another one. And these — as the former — aren’t grabbed out of thin air, rather, they come from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation.
In this case it’s the good ol’ Green Machine — the US Army — that has managed to “lose” $487-plus million in repaired equipment. That is to say that inventory control from only TWO inventory control points “… could not reconcile shipment records with receipt record for 42 percent of its unclassified secondary repair item shipments …”
The report states that what this means is, “The Army cannot confirm that all inventory items shipped to repair contractors were received.”
And that’s just for 2004 shipments!
Add that to the billions (no misprint) that various contractors have earned in incentives for NOT coming in at contract price and for coming in up to two years LATE on contracts, and we’re talking serious money.
Meanwhile, the guys on the ground don’t have proper body armor, don’t have properly armored light vehicles, have weaponry that doesn’t function in desert conditions, etc., etc.
What do you read about instead? The “cost” of the war on terror, wiretapping bad guys, etc., etc.
One of the main reasons I can deduce that this stuff isn’t being bugled about by the media is that the politicians whose home states depend on these contractors don’t have the cojones to make an issue of it, since SOME of that cash HAS to be going into political coffers. In turn, they don’t whisper to their pets in the press, and they in turn are too lazy to chase down real stories.
Anybody have a better reason why these things go unreported?
In this case it’s the good ol’ Green Machine — the US Army — that has managed to “lose” $487-plus million in repaired equipment. That is to say that inventory control from only TWO inventory control points “… could not reconcile shipment records with receipt record for 42 percent of its unclassified secondary repair item shipments …”
The report states that what this means is, “The Army cannot confirm that all inventory items shipped to repair contractors were received.”
And that’s just for 2004 shipments!
Add that to the billions (no misprint) that various contractors have earned in incentives for NOT coming in at contract price and for coming in up to two years LATE on contracts, and we’re talking serious money.
Meanwhile, the guys on the ground don’t have proper body armor, don’t have properly armored light vehicles, have weaponry that doesn’t function in desert conditions, etc., etc.
What do you read about instead? The “cost” of the war on terror, wiretapping bad guys, etc., etc.
One of the main reasons I can deduce that this stuff isn’t being bugled about by the media is that the politicians whose home states depend on these contractors don’t have the cojones to make an issue of it, since SOME of that cash HAS to be going into political coffers. In turn, they don’t whisper to their pets in the press, and they in turn are too lazy to chase down real stories.
Anybody have a better reason why these things go unreported?
HO HUM, JUST ANOTHER DAY
So, what are the men and women in Iraq doing when there isn’t any front page IED bodycount stories to run? Here’s a December 28 release compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and Task Force Baghdad news releases, that’ll give you an idea.
“U.S. and Iraqi forces thwarted a prison escape today and destroyed five weapons caches and seized money and passports yesterday, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported. Four Iraqi prison guards, an interpreter and four prisoners died and a U.S. soldier and five prisoners were injured when 16 prisoners tried to escape after storming the armory and obtaining weapons. All prisoners are accounted for.
The 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team found nearly 400 mortar rounds, along with explosive propellant, artillery fuses, small-arms ammunition, an anti-tank missile and an anti-personnel mine near Hawijah in north central Iraq. A cache near Bayji yielded mortar tubes, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, RPG warheads, plastic explosives and small-arms ammunition. Another cache near Bayji contained artillery shells, anti-aircraft artillery rounds, mortar tubes, RPG launchers and bulk explosives.
Third Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force soldiers and coalition forces found two weapons caches north of Sadah. They contained makeshift rocket launchers, mortar base plates, and mortar rounds, a machine-gun tripod and two rockets.
Also near Sadah, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers detained a suspect [and] found 10 Saudi Arabian passports, several others of unknown origin, $1,900 in U.S. currency and 65,000 Iraqi dinar. A global positioning system (GPS) device they found a day earlier led them to the site.”
“U.S. and Iraqi forces thwarted a prison escape today and destroyed five weapons caches and seized money and passports yesterday, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported. Four Iraqi prison guards, an interpreter and four prisoners died and a U.S. soldier and five prisoners were injured when 16 prisoners tried to escape after storming the armory and obtaining weapons. All prisoners are accounted for.
The 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team found nearly 400 mortar rounds, along with explosive propellant, artillery fuses, small-arms ammunition, an anti-tank missile and an anti-personnel mine near Hawijah in north central Iraq. A cache near Bayji yielded mortar tubes, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, RPG warheads, plastic explosives and small-arms ammunition. Another cache near Bayji contained artillery shells, anti-aircraft artillery rounds, mortar tubes, RPG launchers and bulk explosives.
Third Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force soldiers and coalition forces found two weapons caches north of Sadah. They contained makeshift rocket launchers, mortar base plates, and mortar rounds, a machine-gun tripod and two rockets.
Also near Sadah, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers detained a suspect [and] found 10 Saudi Arabian passports, several others of unknown origin, $1,900 in U.S. currency and 65,000 Iraqi dinar. A global positioning system (GPS) device they found a day earlier led them to the site.”
28 December 2005
OIL CRISIS?
A very good article about Big Oil and “windfall” profits and why the only reason the six major oil companies will be distributing some 60 percent of the net to their shareholders is because government policy mandates they do so.
But, hey …why concern oneself with the truth.
The story is titled “The Real Oil Crisis” and it’s on page A15 of today’s (12/28) Wall Street Journal (WSJ). It’s written by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
AND BY THE WAY. If you want to read a “real” newspaper, try the WSJ … even if you aren’t in business. You tend to get more facts in the WSJ regarding everything than in any other newspaper ... mainly because you can’t make business decisions based on opinion.
But, hey …why concern oneself with the truth.
The story is titled “The Real Oil Crisis” and it’s on page A15 of today’s (12/28) Wall Street Journal (WSJ). It’s written by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
AND BY THE WAY. If you want to read a “real” newspaper, try the WSJ … even if you aren’t in business. You tend to get more facts in the WSJ regarding everything than in any other newspaper ... mainly because you can’t make business decisions based on opinion.
GOOD STUFF FOR 2006
Getting away from all the politics and war stuff …
Surf
Seems like 2005 is going out with a bang. Lots of big surf on the West Coast and it looks as if the East Coast is going to get some pretty nice swells before the year calls it quits. For those of you with cable television try and keep an eye on the Encore-Drama channel: they’ve been playing “Riding Giants” which is an excellent look at the big wave riding scene. It features a bunch of my early surf heroes — including the man who started it all: Da Bull, Greg Noll. Some awesome waves and top riders past to present.
Speaking of the West Coast
I’m hoping to head back out to the Oregon/Washington border at the end of February and check back in to the Coast Guard’s surf school. Plus I’ve got a very neat lead on a new motorcycle being built out thataway. It’s a grand prix style bike … all-American and well capitalized and should make quite a stir when it track debuts — it’s appeared in the motorcycle press several times and has everyone drooling in anticipation.
Boat Shows
We’re in the thick of boat show season: the New York show is 12/31 to 1/08, the Miami show is 2/16-2/19. I’ll be at both. Should also be doing a story on a rescue/tactical ops/RIB program after the Miami show … that has the potential to be very neat.
New Water Sport
River boarding. You take a skimboard/wakeboard sort of board, attach it to a bungee and let the river current stretch the bungee out. Then it’s stand and surf up river. The inventors have been working it out the past year-plus on some Western rivers and should be coming East this year. Yes, I’ve been in contact with them. I don’t think it’ll work on the Peconic or Carmens (!) but I bet it would at Shinnecock Inlet or the Ponquogue Bridge. We’ll see. Gotta get it on the Upper Hudson for spring melt-off.
Thinking of Tying The Knot?
Here’s the ultimate engagement gig, better than flashing her name (or your betrothal request) on the big board during the Superbowl. Go pick out the diamond — in the rough — and follow it through the cutting and setting process and while she’s waiting for you to go to bended knee, go hunting for an elk or bear skin coat to go along with the glitter. All on one trip. Sound neat? I’ll tell you all about it when I get back from the Northwest Territories. (And, no, I’m not getting married — I don’t think the ever-patient-LA would okay that even for literary purposes.)
For Sale
By the way. Anybody looking for dive gear? I’ve got a bunch of odds and ends for sale … including a Northern Divers pro drysuit. E-mail me here if you’re interested. Also have some climbing gear for sale — rock and ice.
Surf
Seems like 2005 is going out with a bang. Lots of big surf on the West Coast and it looks as if the East Coast is going to get some pretty nice swells before the year calls it quits. For those of you with cable television try and keep an eye on the Encore-Drama channel: they’ve been playing “Riding Giants” which is an excellent look at the big wave riding scene. It features a bunch of my early surf heroes — including the man who started it all: Da Bull, Greg Noll. Some awesome waves and top riders past to present.
Speaking of the West Coast
I’m hoping to head back out to the Oregon/Washington border at the end of February and check back in to the Coast Guard’s surf school. Plus I’ve got a very neat lead on a new motorcycle being built out thataway. It’s a grand prix style bike … all-American and well capitalized and should make quite a stir when it track debuts — it’s appeared in the motorcycle press several times and has everyone drooling in anticipation.
Boat Shows
We’re in the thick of boat show season: the New York show is 12/31 to 1/08, the Miami show is 2/16-2/19. I’ll be at both. Should also be doing a story on a rescue/tactical ops/RIB program after the Miami show … that has the potential to be very neat.
New Water Sport
River boarding. You take a skimboard/wakeboard sort of board, attach it to a bungee and let the river current stretch the bungee out. Then it’s stand and surf up river. The inventors have been working it out the past year-plus on some Western rivers and should be coming East this year. Yes, I’ve been in contact with them. I don’t think it’ll work on the Peconic or Carmens (!) but I bet it would at Shinnecock Inlet or the Ponquogue Bridge. We’ll see. Gotta get it on the Upper Hudson for spring melt-off.
Thinking of Tying The Knot?
Here’s the ultimate engagement gig, better than flashing her name (or your betrothal request) on the big board during the Superbowl. Go pick out the diamond — in the rough — and follow it through the cutting and setting process and while she’s waiting for you to go to bended knee, go hunting for an elk or bear skin coat to go along with the glitter. All on one trip. Sound neat? I’ll tell you all about it when I get back from the Northwest Territories. (And, no, I’m not getting married — I don’t think the ever-patient-LA would okay that even for literary purposes.)
For Sale
By the way. Anybody looking for dive gear? I’ve got a bunch of odds and ends for sale … including a Northern Divers pro drysuit. E-mail me here if you’re interested. Also have some climbing gear for sale — rock and ice.
BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
Iran: Next Stop Down Range
The Iranis are making quite heavy overtures to the Afghanis …and probably successfully. The country has taken in — according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) —two million refugees and have issued 500,000 visas to Afghanis who have crossed their borders. Iran’s “senate speaker” also noted his country has paid $568 million to the Afghan government over the past four years (he said dollars, not me).
And we’re still looking in Pakistan for the rich kid murderer? It’s gonna HAVE to hit the fan with these loonies again. But please do us a favor. Just drop bombs (I’m tired of writing Arclight) this time. At the very least we should be pouring cash into the Sunni insurrection forces in Iran (this support can ONLY make sense in the Middle East, but THAT’S another story!).
The Iranis are making quite heavy overtures to the Afghanis …and probably successfully. The country has taken in — according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) —two million refugees and have issued 500,000 visas to Afghanis who have crossed their borders. Iran’s “senate speaker” also noted his country has paid $568 million to the Afghan government over the past four years (he said dollars, not me).
And we’re still looking in Pakistan for the rich kid murderer? It’s gonna HAVE to hit the fan with these loonies again. But please do us a favor. Just drop bombs (I’m tired of writing Arclight) this time. At the very least we should be pouring cash into the Sunni insurrection forces in Iran (this support can ONLY make sense in the Middle East, but THAT’S another story!).
27 December 2005
UPDATES
Maybe There Really Is No Such Thing As Intelligence
Not much going on, although the latest revelation that the CIA doesn’t know what every crack dealer in the world does about phone intercepts is annoying, embarrassing and makes me long for the days of Wild Bill and the OSS.
For those of you not up to snuff (pun intended) this has to do with the kidnapping of a terrorist from Italy three years ago, in which the Italian government just issued warrants for some two dozen CIA operatives. The case was “broken” because — among other stupidity — the Italians were able to put a time line together of everyone involved by tracing their cellphones. And “everyone involved” includes the Milan station chief. Nice going guys.
Sanctions on Nine
Nine companies — six Chinese, two Indian and Austrian assault weapons manufacturer Steyr-Mannlicher — have been put on the sanction list for selling advanced weaponry to the whackos in Iran. The Indian companies are all chemical producers. We can understand the Austrians — they’re out of work Nazis and we know why the Chinese are doing it. Tell the Indians no more people imports to the US unless they knock it off, though.
Quickie: Why are India and the US the same? We both have convenience stores run by Indians. How are we different? The guys running the stores in India speak English.
Ahhhh, I got satellite radio for Christmas. Comedy and talk 24 hours a day. Ya gotta love it.
Withdrawal
The Ukraine and Bulgaria are said to have pulled all their troops out of Iraq. Poland said it would stand by the US and the policy implementation, but will cut its troop strength by 600. No word on whether they’ll cut forces in Afghanistan … or if they have any troops in Afghanistan (shhhhhh).
Thanks to the Ukraine (who have some problems at home with the Russians to worry about) and to the Bulgarians who are always taking crap for helping us. The Poles have proven stand-up as they’ve been doing since the American Revolution. Thanks for all the help to all of you.
Mass Graves
A Saadam era mass grave was found in Karbala yesterday. Naturally, since it can’t be attributed to anything we did, no one knows how many bodies it contains.
Not much going on, although the latest revelation that the CIA doesn’t know what every crack dealer in the world does about phone intercepts is annoying, embarrassing and makes me long for the days of Wild Bill and the OSS.
For those of you not up to snuff (pun intended) this has to do with the kidnapping of a terrorist from Italy three years ago, in which the Italian government just issued warrants for some two dozen CIA operatives. The case was “broken” because — among other stupidity — the Italians were able to put a time line together of everyone involved by tracing their cellphones. And “everyone involved” includes the Milan station chief. Nice going guys.
Sanctions on Nine
Nine companies — six Chinese, two Indian and Austrian assault weapons manufacturer Steyr-Mannlicher — have been put on the sanction list for selling advanced weaponry to the whackos in Iran. The Indian companies are all chemical producers. We can understand the Austrians — they’re out of work Nazis and we know why the Chinese are doing it. Tell the Indians no more people imports to the US unless they knock it off, though.
Quickie: Why are India and the US the same? We both have convenience stores run by Indians. How are we different? The guys running the stores in India speak English.
Ahhhh, I got satellite radio for Christmas. Comedy and talk 24 hours a day. Ya gotta love it.
Withdrawal
The Ukraine and Bulgaria are said to have pulled all their troops out of Iraq. Poland said it would stand by the US and the policy implementation, but will cut its troop strength by 600. No word on whether they’ll cut forces in Afghanistan … or if they have any troops in Afghanistan (shhhhhh).
Thanks to the Ukraine (who have some problems at home with the Russians to worry about) and to the Bulgarians who are always taking crap for helping us. The Poles have proven stand-up as they’ve been doing since the American Revolution. Thanks for all the help to all of you.
Mass Graves
A Saadam era mass grave was found in Karbala yesterday. Naturally, since it can’t be attributed to anything we did, no one knows how many bodies it contains.
23 December 2005
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR MILITARY
Barring anything that drives me to the point of bashing my head against a wall in disbelief, I’m going to take a break from writing for LRRP’s World for the Christmas weekend.
(I'm sure what you all meant to say was "Awwwwww." .... Regardless ...)
I can remember spending three Christmases in Viet Nam during the Southeast Asian War Games. Two — as I recall — were in the woods, and I distinctly recall spending one Christmas being chased by the NVA somewhewre in the A Shau. Of course there was a Christmas truce going on, but … well, anyone who has been in combat knows what that means.
I also remember my last Christmas in the RVN was spent in a village outside Qui Nhon bringing some Christmas cheer to the locals. I remember less of that than I do the two combat Christmases, but … well, those of you who haven’t been in combat while in a combat zone know all about THAT as well.
Anyway … to all the men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever around the world and the US you may be stationed, I wish you all a safe Christmas and hope you’ll be home with loved ones — or at least home away from sand, IEDs, terrorists, foreigners, unfamiliar turf, etc., for the next one.
As aside, I especially want to wish those of you in the special ops business a safe Christmas.
Know that all of you — no matter where you serve or what branch of the service you’re with — Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and even Marines (just kidding, guys) — will be in my and my family’s prayers over these next two days.
We’ll be sitting down to good chow in a safe and warm place.
And the reason we’re able to do that is because of you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Gary P. Joyce
(I'm sure what you all meant to say was "Awwwwww." .... Regardless ...)
I can remember spending three Christmases in Viet Nam during the Southeast Asian War Games. Two — as I recall — were in the woods, and I distinctly recall spending one Christmas being chased by the NVA somewhewre in the A Shau. Of course there was a Christmas truce going on, but … well, anyone who has been in combat knows what that means.
I also remember my last Christmas in the RVN was spent in a village outside Qui Nhon bringing some Christmas cheer to the locals. I remember less of that than I do the two combat Christmases, but … well, those of you who haven’t been in combat while in a combat zone know all about THAT as well.
Anyway … to all the men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever around the world and the US you may be stationed, I wish you all a safe Christmas and hope you’ll be home with loved ones — or at least home away from sand, IEDs, terrorists, foreigners, unfamiliar turf, etc., for the next one.
As aside, I especially want to wish those of you in the special ops business a safe Christmas.
Know that all of you — no matter where you serve or what branch of the service you’re with — Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and even Marines (just kidding, guys) — will be in my and my family’s prayers over these next two days.
We’ll be sitting down to good chow in a safe and warm place.
And the reason we’re able to do that is because of you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Gary P. Joyce
TIME TO STOP SUBSIDIZING THE OLD WORLD
If it ain’t one thing it’s another with the Germans, French, etc. Now the Italians are getting into the act. They issued arrest warrants for 22 CIA operatives (including the Milan station chief) for kidnapping some terrorist three years ago. The mutt said he was delivered to Egypt and was tortured.
A. Who cares?
B. Who cares?
C. Who cares?
Etcetera.
I think it’s about time we pull foreign aid from any and all of these mutts. Lets see how much fun it is to visit countries that need every penny we give them just so they can keep their infrastructures running so they can suck money out of us when we go to visit.
A. Who cares?
B. Who cares?
C. Who cares?
Etcetera.
I think it’s about time we pull foreign aid from any and all of these mutts. Lets see how much fun it is to visit countries that need every penny we give them just so they can keep their infrastructures running so they can suck money out of us when we go to visit.
22 December 2005
LEST WE FORGET - Wake Island, WW II
DECEMBER 23, 1941 – 64 years ago, the gallant defenders of Wake Island (1,600 sailors, Marines, volunteer civilian contractors, and an Army-Air Force radio detachment) surrendered. An estimated 120 Americans died in the battle, as did nearly 900 Japanese, and it was the basis for the first American war movie of World War II, “Wake Island."
The battle started on December 8 after the Pearl Harbor attack and ended on December 23.
The garrison was broken up and most were shipped to China, while 98 men (civilians) were left on Wake to construct defenses for the Japanese. The POWs sent to China suffered five random beheadings (two Marines and three Navy men) during the voyage, and on October 7, 1943, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara announced that he had executed the 98 men left on the island.
Only 1200 of the 4400-man garrison men were let alive when the island surrendered on September 4, 1945. Sakaibara was arrested and tried for war crimes and executed in 1947.
Wake Island Firsts:
First enemy surface ships sunk by American forces.
First enemy vessel sunk by American aircraft.
First Japanese fleet submarine destroyed by American forces.
First and only amphibious operation in the Pacific to be stopped by coastal guns.
First Medal of Honor awarded to a Marine aviator: Capt Elrod was posthumously cited for gallantry as a fighter pilot and for ground combat, when he was killed on 23 Dec. 1941.
First Presidential Unit Citation awarded by the personal direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was also the only one ever signed by him.
The battle started on December 8 after the Pearl Harbor attack and ended on December 23.
The garrison was broken up and most were shipped to China, while 98 men (civilians) were left on Wake to construct defenses for the Japanese. The POWs sent to China suffered five random beheadings (two Marines and three Navy men) during the voyage, and on October 7, 1943, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara announced that he had executed the 98 men left on the island.
Only 1200 of the 4400-man garrison men were let alive when the island surrendered on September 4, 1945. Sakaibara was arrested and tried for war crimes and executed in 1947.
Wake Island Firsts:
First enemy surface ships sunk by American forces.
First enemy vessel sunk by American aircraft.
First Japanese fleet submarine destroyed by American forces.
First and only amphibious operation in the Pacific to be stopped by coastal guns.
First Medal of Honor awarded to a Marine aviator: Capt Elrod was posthumously cited for gallantry as a fighter pilot and for ground combat, when he was killed on 23 Dec. 1941.
First Presidential Unit Citation awarded by the personal direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was also the only one ever signed by him.
HUNT HIM DOWN
I know I rage at the media a lot, but here’s one I came across in Newsday, they got off wire service reports. Of course it SHOULD have been front page, but at least they covered it even if the story’s buried on page 29.
Mohammed Ali Hamadi, the Lebanese mutt who beat 23-year old Navy diver, Robert Stethem, nearly to death, then shot him in the head and drop his body on the tarmac in Beirut during a TWA hijacking in 1985 was paroled by the German government after serving 19 years, despite pleas by the American government to make him finish out his life sentence.
The son of bitch has disappeared — naturally — but if we don’t use every asset in North Africa and the Middle East to snatch this dude and either have him fall victim of an “accident” or … well, it’ll just be another slap in the face of America and more fuel for the terrorist fire.
The hijacking served as the model for the Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin 1986 film “Delta Force.” The image of the initial stage of the hijacking and the one that came to symbolize hijackings worldwide, showed TWA pilot John Testrake calmly answering reporter’s questions with a gun to his head.
Hamadi better not be walking this time next month .., the American government has promised to hunt him down. Get him and give him over to any Navy divers and see what happens.
Oh. Thanks to the Germans. We'll be happy to return the favor given the chance.
Mohammed Ali Hamadi, the Lebanese mutt who beat 23-year old Navy diver, Robert Stethem, nearly to death, then shot him in the head and drop his body on the tarmac in Beirut during a TWA hijacking in 1985 was paroled by the German government after serving 19 years, despite pleas by the American government to make him finish out his life sentence.
The son of bitch has disappeared — naturally — but if we don’t use every asset in North Africa and the Middle East to snatch this dude and either have him fall victim of an “accident” or … well, it’ll just be another slap in the face of America and more fuel for the terrorist fire.
The hijacking served as the model for the Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin 1986 film “Delta Force.” The image of the initial stage of the hijacking and the one that came to symbolize hijackings worldwide, showed TWA pilot John Testrake calmly answering reporter’s questions with a gun to his head.
Hamadi better not be walking this time next month .., the American government has promised to hunt him down. Get him and give him over to any Navy divers and see what happens.
Oh. Thanks to the Germans. We'll be happy to return the favor given the chance.
IRAN AND SYRIA … I TOLD YOU IT WAS TIME FOR A NUKE
Am working on confirming this stuff — FYI: anything I write in LRRP’s World doesn’t come from a single source. If I did that, I’d be the same as the mainstream media — but:
Apparently Iran and Syria have signed an agreement to circumvent losing hot nuclear material and assassins. Iran gets to keep the former in the latter and Syria gets to keep the latter in the former. (Pretty nifty turn of words, eh?)
This comes from the American Congress for Truth who are attributing it to Janes Defense Weekly (which costs like a $zillion to subscribe to … if you readers would start getting LRRP’s World out to the masses, maybe I could get some advertisers in here and afford that kind of stuff instead of having to learn to read Arabic!).
I’ll get back when I dig up some more.
Apparently Iran and Syria have signed an agreement to circumvent losing hot nuclear material and assassins. Iran gets to keep the former in the latter and Syria gets to keep the latter in the former. (Pretty nifty turn of words, eh?)
This comes from the American Congress for Truth who are attributing it to Janes Defense Weekly (which costs like a $zillion to subscribe to … if you readers would start getting LRRP’s World out to the masses, maybe I could get some advertisers in here and afford that kind of stuff instead of having to learn to read Arabic!).
I’ll get back when I dig up some more.
TORTURE? FIRST OFF YOU GOTTA’ …
Saadam Hussein has accused his US captors of torture, noting the remnant scars of electric torture on his face.
A) I thought he was just a jaded, corrupt-looking repulsive bag of flesh who was responsible for genocide, torture, murder, rape, etc.
B) Why is this a story?
C) Why is this a story?
and
D) Why is this a story?
For those of you saying: “we know the bad old US did that” — who I seriously doubt have the temerity to have read this far anyway — may I point out that while ear lobes and nostrils are good places to hook up electrical wires when trying to hold a convincing conversation, genitals work much better. And Saadam didn’t drop trou’ in court.
E) Why is this a story?
I wish this was a joke, but it’s actually being reported. I can’t WAIT to see today’s front pages.
A) I thought he was just a jaded, corrupt-looking repulsive bag of flesh who was responsible for genocide, torture, murder, rape, etc.
B) Why is this a story?
C) Why is this a story?
and
D) Why is this a story?
For those of you saying: “we know the bad old US did that” — who I seriously doubt have the temerity to have read this far anyway — may I point out that while ear lobes and nostrils are good places to hook up electrical wires when trying to hold a convincing conversation, genitals work much better. And Saadam didn’t drop trou’ in court.
E) Why is this a story?
I wish this was a joke, but it’s actually being reported. I can’t WAIT to see today’s front pages.
WE DID ELECT THESE CLOWNS, RIGHT?
Before recess yesterday, the stalwarts running the country in the Senate approved a six-month extension of the Patriot Act, while killing any chance of drilling in Alaska’s ANWR. Amidst other BS.
Dems and some GOPers such as Senator John Sununu (R-NH) added a month to the “time out” due on the Patriot Act this August. President Bush wanted it renewed fully, since our enemies - terrorists. Remember them? - were failing to adhere to a similar senate-type Take-a-Break-for-Christmas schedule.
The media condensed the “victory” of the Left and their supporters into a single issue problem noting that the extension would have given the “Federal Bureau of Investigation authority to wiretap and compel businesses and organizations to provide information on suspected terrorists.”
Well, we can’t have that!
As for drilling in the ANWR …well, hell, Senators don’t pay for their gasoline — or anything else. We do.
After their “marathon” session, these fat cats got to go home for Christmas and then get to come back for the next 365 days and not take a stand on anything that will prevent them from getting re-elected.
A Tom Clancy novel ends with the terrorist bad guys flying a 747 into a presidential inauguration, killing most of the Federal government — prez, VP, cabinet heads, congress, senators, judges, etc. The next book begins with all replaced by non-elected/non-politicians who - for at least a couple of terms - actually get things done FOR THE PEOPLE. Oh, they eventually become fat cats as well, but for a while they run government like a business and use common sense in their law making, etc. …
I can dream, can’t I?
Dems and some GOPers such as Senator John Sununu (R-NH) added a month to the “time out” due on the Patriot Act this August. President Bush wanted it renewed fully, since our enemies - terrorists. Remember them? - were failing to adhere to a similar senate-type Take-a-Break-for-Christmas schedule.
The media condensed the “victory” of the Left and their supporters into a single issue problem noting that the extension would have given the “Federal Bureau of Investigation authority to wiretap and compel businesses and organizations to provide information on suspected terrorists.”
Well, we can’t have that!
As for drilling in the ANWR …well, hell, Senators don’t pay for their gasoline — or anything else. We do.
After their “marathon” session, these fat cats got to go home for Christmas and then get to come back for the next 365 days and not take a stand on anything that will prevent them from getting re-elected.
A Tom Clancy novel ends with the terrorist bad guys flying a 747 into a presidential inauguration, killing most of the Federal government — prez, VP, cabinet heads, congress, senators, judges, etc. The next book begins with all replaced by non-elected/non-politicians who - for at least a couple of terms - actually get things done FOR THE PEOPLE. Oh, they eventually become fat cats as well, but for a while they run government like a business and use common sense in their law making, etc. …
I can dream, can’t I?
21 December 2005
IRAQ ELECTIONS- RESULTS
Regardless of what you may read — here or anywhere else — it’s becoming apparent that the election we set up was successful. It’s also becoming apparent that due to the nature of a democratically run election, and the religious fundamentalism and adherence of the locals, the success may become problematic to US interests in the area.
The solution? We stay until the Iraqi army can command the country. Hopefully from a democratic position, but more likely based on the traditional area model; i.e., “we have the guns, do it our way, you don’t like it, too bad.” There way has to coincide with our way.
You’ll read all about this once the media figures it out. But here's the usual LRRP's World heads up.
Hey. We gave them an election and knocked off a vicious dictatorship, what they do with it is their business. That’s how a democracy works.
Mess with us and we’ll be back.
Again.
The solution? We stay until the Iraqi army can command the country. Hopefully from a democratic position, but more likely based on the traditional area model; i.e., “we have the guns, do it our way, you don’t like it, too bad.” There way has to coincide with our way.
You’ll read all about this once the media figures it out. But here's the usual LRRP's World heads up.
Hey. We gave them an election and knocked off a vicious dictatorship, what they do with it is their business. That’s how a democracy works.
Mess with us and we’ll be back.
Again.
COOL VIDEO
Of the SLAMRAAM missile system. Good tune with it, as well
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=82952&ESRC=army.nl
Cut and paste it, folks. As soon as I get some time I’ll figure this embedding-URL stuff out. Pick-chers too!
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=82952&ESRC=army.nl
Cut and paste it, folks. As soon as I get some time I’ll figure this embedding-URL stuff out. Pick-chers too!
NEWSDAY THREATENS?
Look for a small — you know it’s gonna’ be buried — story in today’s Newsday regarding the paper’s editorial page editor “threatening” a Nassau County legislator over who should become presiding officer (this is an all-Democrat situation, so it has nothing to do with LRRP’s World’s political beliefs).
Naturally, Newsday and the editor, James Klurfeld, deny any threatening … saying they were simply advancing Newsday’s opinions regarding who should be presiding officer.
And Newsday’s opinion should count because why?
Lemme’ tell you something about the 600-pound media gorilla that is Newsday: this ain’t the first time an elected official has been threatened with pulled media support unless kowtowing to the paper and it won’t be the last.
But there’s no media out there with the balls — well, maybe that’s not fair. Let’s say, there’s no bigger media gorilla out there that would care to investigate this or any other charge of editorial coercion, because they’re just as guilty of this type behavior.
Ah, the media … bringing you all the news that they think they should explain to you. Or else!
Naturally, Newsday and the editor, James Klurfeld, deny any threatening … saying they were simply advancing Newsday’s opinions regarding who should be presiding officer.
And Newsday’s opinion should count because why?
Lemme’ tell you something about the 600-pound media gorilla that is Newsday: this ain’t the first time an elected official has been threatened with pulled media support unless kowtowing to the paper and it won’t be the last.
But there’s no media out there with the balls — well, maybe that’s not fair. Let’s say, there’s no bigger media gorilla out there that would care to investigate this or any other charge of editorial coercion, because they’re just as guilty of this type behavior.
Ah, the media … bringing you all the news that they think they should explain to you. Or else!
MEDIA CONTACTS
Hey, ya never know why you might need these number, but it’s nice to have them. If you do and you wake up an irate homeowner or some-such instead of the assignment desk, (i.e., if any are incorrect numbers), please advise LRRP’s World.
PHONE FAX
ABC News 212-456-4040 212-456-2795
CBS News 212-975-3691 212-975-1893
NBC News 212-664-4971 212-664-5705
CNN 404-827-1511 404-681-3578
Fox News 212-301-3300 212-301-8274
MSNBC 201-583-5222 201-583-5453
PBS 703-998-2150 703-998-4154
NPR 202-414-2200 202-414-3329
NY Times 212-556-1234 212-556-3690
USA Today 703-276-3400 703-247-3100
WS Journal 212-416-2000 212-416-2658
WAPO 202-334-6000 202-496-3936
Newsweek 212-445-4000 212-445-4450
Time 212-522-1212 212-522-0323
U.S. News 202-955-2000 202-955-2049
AP 212-621-1600 212-621-7520
Congress 202-224-3121
White House 202-456-1414 202-456-2461
PHONE FAX
ABC News 212-456-4040 212-456-2795
CBS News 212-975-3691 212-975-1893
NBC News 212-664-4971 212-664-5705
CNN 404-827-1511 404-681-3578
Fox News 212-301-3300 212-301-8274
MSNBC 201-583-5222 201-583-5453
PBS 703-998-2150 703-998-4154
NPR 202-414-2200 202-414-3329
NY Times 212-556-1234 212-556-3690
USA Today 703-276-3400 703-247-3100
WS Journal 212-416-2000 212-416-2658
WAPO 202-334-6000 202-496-3936
Newsweek 212-445-4000 212-445-4450
Time 212-522-1212 212-522-0323
U.S. News 202-955-2000 202-955-2049
AP 212-621-1600 212-621-7520
Congress 202-224-3121
White House 202-456-1414 202-456-2461
SEND A CHRISTMAS CARD
Or a dozen or so.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
‘Nuff said.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
‘Nuff said.
HONORING SOMEONE WHO DESERVES TO BE HONORED
Although Stanley “Tookie” Williams has gone to his — never a more appropriate phrase has been coined — just rewards, here’s part of the take from syndicated columnist Bob Weir’s December 15 column about the murder of NYPD officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, last week. This has just started making the rounds of the Web, and I thank my buddy Paul for passing it on to LRRP’s World.
“How many Hollywood celebrities will hold public demonstrations to praise this fallen officer who sacrificed his life for law and order? Will we see Susan Sarandon, Mike Farrell and Snoop Dog [an ex Crip, by the way - gpj] organize protests against any further cop killings? Will Jesse Jackson give a speech about the need to respect the symbols of justice in America? Nah! They're too busy trying to keep a cold-blooded multiple-murderer from paying the penalty for his brutal rampage of death. Will this brave officer be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize? Nah! All he did was risk his life for his fellow man. How can you compare that to what "Tookie" Williams did?”
Well said ...
... and just for accuracy sakes, let's not leave out the names of others who have supported Tookie or spoken at his execution: Angela Davis (has-been Black Panther revolutionary and alleged murder conspiracist), Joan Baez (she's still ALIVE?), Louis Farrakhan (duh!), Bianca Jagger (social activist and very long-in-the-tooth looking broad who won't use her real name even if she IS divorced), Jamie Foxx (ah, jeez, Jamie. You gotta play that game?), Danny Glover (ditto) and - ta dah - Mr. Social Consciousness-Important-Hollywood-On-The-Scene-Reporting "tough guy" Sean Penn. You also have to throw in the usual groups of West Coast misfit activist groups of dubious intelligence, committment and authenticity. Hey, this happened at San Quentin, as in California, as in La-La Land.
If I gotta count on that motley crew to keep me alive, stick it in my vein now.
“How many Hollywood celebrities will hold public demonstrations to praise this fallen officer who sacrificed his life for law and order? Will we see Susan Sarandon, Mike Farrell and Snoop Dog [an ex Crip, by the way - gpj] organize protests against any further cop killings? Will Jesse Jackson give a speech about the need to respect the symbols of justice in America? Nah! They're too busy trying to keep a cold-blooded multiple-murderer from paying the penalty for his brutal rampage of death. Will this brave officer be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize? Nah! All he did was risk his life for his fellow man. How can you compare that to what "Tookie" Williams did?”
Well said ...
... and just for accuracy sakes, let's not leave out the names of others who have supported Tookie or spoken at his execution: Angela Davis (has-been Black Panther revolutionary and alleged murder conspiracist), Joan Baez (she's still ALIVE?), Louis Farrakhan (duh!), Bianca Jagger (social activist and very long-in-the-tooth looking broad who won't use her real name even if she IS divorced), Jamie Foxx (ah, jeez, Jamie. You gotta play that game?), Danny Glover (ditto) and - ta dah - Mr. Social Consciousness-Important-Hollywood-On-The-Scene-Reporting "tough guy" Sean Penn. You also have to throw in the usual groups of West Coast misfit activist groups of dubious intelligence, committment and authenticity. Hey, this happened at San Quentin, as in California, as in La-La Land.
If I gotta count on that motley crew to keep me alive, stick it in my vein now.
20 December 2005
I’M SO SICK AND TIRED …
As I noted several times over the past week-plus, since the elections in Iraq went well and since the Iraqi people seem happy, there hasn’t been any “news” to report, so the media have had to invent things. First The New York Times comes up with a one-year old story that Ariana Huffington calls the “bombshell story of the year” — God, are these people stupid — then the ever lovin’ scum that pretend to report the facts miss out on several real stories that DO affect us (FBI misconduct, DoD misconduct, assassination attempts, etc.).
But hell, the "Bush Did It and Is Going To Keep Doing It" tale has all the ingredients the media loves: George Bush, spying, civil rights, and the feigned outrage of bastards who never did a thing for their country that didn’t pay off in spades.
All I have to say (again) is: Keep the surveillance going, Mr. President. Regardless of what the media reports they represent but a small portion of the public. The vast majority of us understand the reasons why surveillance is necessary and don’t care because we’re not terrorists.
Those who don’t understand make strange bedfellows: liberals and militiamen.
They’re welcome to each other.
But hell, the "Bush Did It and Is Going To Keep Doing It" tale has all the ingredients the media loves: George Bush, spying, civil rights, and the feigned outrage of bastards who never did a thing for their country that didn’t pay off in spades.
All I have to say (again) is: Keep the surveillance going, Mr. President. Regardless of what the media reports they represent but a small portion of the public. The vast majority of us understand the reasons why surveillance is necessary and don’t care because we’re not terrorists.
Those who don’t understand make strange bedfellows: liberals and militiamen.
They’re welcome to each other.
HERE’S A WEIRD ONE
It’s been alleged that the Indonesian intelligence service may have assisted an airline pilot in killing an outspoken human rights spokesperson by putting arsenic in his orange juice during a flight. The pilot was sentenced to 14 years prison, and no mention was made of the intelligence service connection except by the victim’s family. The pilot, who was off duty at the time, said he’d been framed.
There’re a lot of people —political and otherwise — I’d like to see dead — figuratively in most cases — but I don’t think putting arsenic in their OJ while on a flight is the way to go about it, do you?
Ya gotta love them whacky Indos.
There’re a lot of people —political and otherwise — I’d like to see dead — figuratively in most cases — but I don’t think putting arsenic in their OJ while on a flight is the way to go about it, do you?
Ya gotta love them whacky Indos.
IT’S ABOUT TIME
Glad to see President Bush sticking it those responsible for leaking the NSA wiretapping story; i.e., The New York Times. It’s really too bad there isn’t legal recourse to be had, but just maybe, somebody will die as a result of a wiretap being broken off and the ACLU will represent the family and sue the Times for treasonous and malfeasant activities having caused the death.
Yeah, and maybe Ted Kennedy will open a driving school.
Yeah, and maybe Ted Kennedy will open a driving school.
19 December 2005
TWO COOL STORIES
These are off of the Navy News Service, both are quite different and could only happen in the military … no wonder I miss it.
The first comes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the fourth of the Nimitz-class carriers. Seems a sailor went overboard into the Persian Gulf during night ops at around 0215 Sunday morning (12/18) “The ship and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 immediately started rescue operations. A helicopter from Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 3 returned the Sailor to the deck of the carrier at 3:10 a.m. Medical personnel evaluated the Sailor, who was determined to be in good condition,” according to US Fifth Fleet PA. Can you imagine being that guy?!?
The second tales comes from Pearl Harbor where a sailor from the December 7, 1941 attack was finally identified. He is Seaman 2nd Class Warren P. Hickok of Kalamazoo, Mich. The family has been notified and has not set a date for his burial.
This is an interesting tale … and the DoD constantly releases names of ID’d guys from all the wars as they are confirmed. I was pretty astounded to find that out. Anyway …
Hickok was assigned to the Light Mine Layer USS Sicard (DM 21) when the Japanese attacked. Many crew members from Sicard, including Hickok, were dispatched to assist the crew of USS Cummings (DD 365), a destroyer docked nearby. Cummings succeeded in getting underway and cleared Pearl with no casualties. However, an investigation into those still unaccounted-for after the attack surmised that Hickok may have been a casualty aboard the battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB 38), since some crewmen from Sicard had been dispatched to Pennsylvania during the attack.
In the days following the attack, burial details interred many of the unknown dead in Nuuanu Cemetery on Oahu. Among those buried were an unknown Sailor identified only as X-2. Following the war, the Army Graves Registration Service oversaw the disinterment of unknown remains, including X-2. They could not be identified and were reburied in Section E, Grave 73 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, on June 9, 1949.
In 2004, an avocational historian – which, as near as I can tell, is a guy who likes history – contacted the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hawaii and suggested that the remains in Grave 731 may be those of Hickok. Based on available records, JPAC exhumed the grave in June 2005. Forensic anthropologists at JPAC were able to match those remains, including dental remains, with detailed information found in Hickok's World War II medical and dental records.
Of the 88,000 unaccounted-for Americans from all conflicts, 78,000 are from World War II.
Wild tale, eh?
The first comes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the fourth of the Nimitz-class carriers. Seems a sailor went overboard into the Persian Gulf during night ops at around 0215 Sunday morning (12/18) “The ship and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 immediately started rescue operations. A helicopter from Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 3 returned the Sailor to the deck of the carrier at 3:10 a.m. Medical personnel evaluated the Sailor, who was determined to be in good condition,” according to US Fifth Fleet PA. Can you imagine being that guy?!?
The second tales comes from Pearl Harbor where a sailor from the December 7, 1941 attack was finally identified. He is Seaman 2nd Class Warren P. Hickok of Kalamazoo, Mich. The family has been notified and has not set a date for his burial.
This is an interesting tale … and the DoD constantly releases names of ID’d guys from all the wars as they are confirmed. I was pretty astounded to find that out. Anyway …
Hickok was assigned to the Light Mine Layer USS Sicard (DM 21) when the Japanese attacked. Many crew members from Sicard, including Hickok, were dispatched to assist the crew of USS Cummings (DD 365), a destroyer docked nearby. Cummings succeeded in getting underway and cleared Pearl with no casualties. However, an investigation into those still unaccounted-for after the attack surmised that Hickok may have been a casualty aboard the battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB 38), since some crewmen from Sicard had been dispatched to Pennsylvania during the attack.
In the days following the attack, burial details interred many of the unknown dead in Nuuanu Cemetery on Oahu. Among those buried were an unknown Sailor identified only as X-2. Following the war, the Army Graves Registration Service oversaw the disinterment of unknown remains, including X-2. They could not be identified and were reburied in Section E, Grave 73 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, on June 9, 1949.
In 2004, an avocational historian – which, as near as I can tell, is a guy who likes history – contacted the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hawaii and suggested that the remains in Grave 731 may be those of Hickok. Based on available records, JPAC exhumed the grave in June 2005. Forensic anthropologists at JPAC were able to match those remains, including dental remains, with detailed information found in Hickok's World War II medical and dental records.
Of the 88,000 unaccounted-for Americans from all conflicts, 78,000 are from World War II.
Wild tale, eh?
AND AS LONG AS WE’RE GIVING CREDIT
Let’s not forget a “Hear, Hear!” to democratic Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT). The former Democratic VP candidate and all-round liberal poster boy returned from Iraq recently – you wouldn’t know it happened by the media coverage – noting that we should stay in Iraq and finish what we started, and Iraq was in pretty good shape all things considered. This happened in early December and most of the coverage concerned the negative effect his stance has had on the Demo party.
Lieberman continues to argue that Bush HAS a strategy for victory, DOESN'T want a timetable imposed for withdrawal and has said it would be a "colossal mistake" for his party’s leadership to "lose its will.”
All I gotta say, is Happy Holidays to you, Senator!
Jeez. Al Franken in Iraq with the USO, and a thinking Liberal backing an American President. What the hell is going on?
Lieberman continues to argue that Bush HAS a strategy for victory, DOESN'T want a timetable imposed for withdrawal and has said it would be a "colossal mistake" for his party’s leadership to "lose its will.”
All I gotta say, is Happy Holidays to you, Senator!
Jeez. Al Franken in Iraq with the USO, and a thinking Liberal backing an American President. What the hell is going on?
NEWS YOU WON’T HEAR ELSEWHERE
I Hate the Bastard, But …
Gotta give credit where credit is due. This year’s USO Hope and Freedom Tour features none other than comedian Al Franken. Franken - yes, THAT Al Franken - disguised as Saddam Hussein in a skit with actress Traylor Howard (she’s the good looking blonde who plays neurotic detective Adrian Monk’s assistant) said afterwards, “It’s a real honor to meet the service members. I never served in the military, so I feel this is a little way I can give something back.” Damn! I'm impressed.
Also in the tour are the Army band, two Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, country music artists Craig Morgan, Mark Wills and Keni Thomas (Morgan and Thomas are former Rangers); and Jekob and Rachel Washington from SoulJahz. (Courtesy Army Public Affairs)
Shucks They Missed
Gunmen ambushed the motorcade of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leaving his driver and one of his bodyguards dead, however the hard-line leader escaped injury because he was not in the car at the time (not a very good plan, eh?), according to a report in the semi-official Jomhouri Islami. Ahmadinejad had been touring the troubled Sistan-Baloochestan province since Wednesday where ethnic Sunni Baluchis have been fighting for autonomy from Iran's Shiite theocratic government. (Courtesy Kavkazcenter.com)
What the Hell is THIS All About?
What do the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the self-described messiah, and Russian billionaire-in-exile, Russian Godfather Boris Berezovsky have in common? Both have been keeping company with First Brother, Neil Bush. In the past few weeks Bush has been spotted in Asia with the Rev. Moon, who is on a worldwide tour promoting world peace. (Courtesy Kavkazcenter.com)
We Don’t Hate the Jews, We Just Hate the Jews.
An op-ed in today’s Teheran Times, notes that there are 25,000 Iranian Jews living relatively unscathed in Iran and therefore how can Iran be considered anti-Semitic? We just hate the Zionists, proclaims the author, Hamid Golpira, who – among other interesting semantic and logic leaps – compares anti-Zionist Jews to anti-apartheid South Africans. Naturally the op-ed’s logic is convoluted but holds some water on first read – much like a liberal’s view of American foreign policy. Of course on second read the holes start showing. C’mon, fess up. You hate the Jews, period. Gimme a break.
And NObody Likes Al Jazeera
Banned in Iraq and Iran the internationally famous mouthpiece of terrorism worldwide now has a bunch of seminarians ticked off at it for a London-based debate it aired December 16, that purportedly bad mouthed a Shiite Grand Ayatollah.
"Once again the evil hand of world arrogance has come out of the notorious Al-Jazeera network which unveiled its hypocrite face even more than before by insulting and disrespecting his highness Ayatollah Sistani," the Association of Qom Seminary Lecturers said in a statement. Damn right. (Courtesy Teheran Times)
Speaking of Traitors
Guess who Al Jazeera quotes in a news story/op ed on 2005 being the year Geroge Bush acquired the “Medusa Touch;” i.e., everything he’s touched has “turned to stone?” They also call him "President Medusa" in the piece.
Let’s see. There’s Times.com (The New York Times), the Associated Press, and Sen. Russell Feingold, (D-WI).
Gee, I hope that goes on their resumes. Ah for the good old days when aiding and abetting the enemy was called treason, not expressing one's intellectual acumen.
May you all move to a desert and come down with rectal warts.
Gotta give credit where credit is due. This year’s USO Hope and Freedom Tour features none other than comedian Al Franken. Franken - yes, THAT Al Franken - disguised as Saddam Hussein in a skit with actress Traylor Howard (she’s the good looking blonde who plays neurotic detective Adrian Monk’s assistant) said afterwards, “It’s a real honor to meet the service members. I never served in the military, so I feel this is a little way I can give something back.” Damn! I'm impressed.
Also in the tour are the Army band, two Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, country music artists Craig Morgan, Mark Wills and Keni Thomas (Morgan and Thomas are former Rangers); and Jekob and Rachel Washington from SoulJahz. (Courtesy Army Public Affairs)
Shucks They Missed
Gunmen ambushed the motorcade of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leaving his driver and one of his bodyguards dead, however the hard-line leader escaped injury because he was not in the car at the time (not a very good plan, eh?), according to a report in the semi-official Jomhouri Islami. Ahmadinejad had been touring the troubled Sistan-Baloochestan province since Wednesday where ethnic Sunni Baluchis have been fighting for autonomy from Iran's Shiite theocratic government. (Courtesy Kavkazcenter.com)
What the Hell is THIS All About?
What do the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the self-described messiah, and Russian billionaire-in-exile, Russian Godfather Boris Berezovsky have in common? Both have been keeping company with First Brother, Neil Bush. In the past few weeks Bush has been spotted in Asia with the Rev. Moon, who is on a worldwide tour promoting world peace. (Courtesy Kavkazcenter.com)
We Don’t Hate the Jews, We Just Hate the Jews.
An op-ed in today’s Teheran Times, notes that there are 25,000 Iranian Jews living relatively unscathed in Iran and therefore how can Iran be considered anti-Semitic? We just hate the Zionists, proclaims the author, Hamid Golpira, who – among other interesting semantic and logic leaps – compares anti-Zionist Jews to anti-apartheid South Africans. Naturally the op-ed’s logic is convoluted but holds some water on first read – much like a liberal’s view of American foreign policy. Of course on second read the holes start showing. C’mon, fess up. You hate the Jews, period. Gimme a break.
And NObody Likes Al Jazeera
Banned in Iraq and Iran the internationally famous mouthpiece of terrorism worldwide now has a bunch of seminarians ticked off at it for a London-based debate it aired December 16, that purportedly bad mouthed a Shiite Grand Ayatollah.
"Once again the evil hand of world arrogance has come out of the notorious Al-Jazeera network which unveiled its hypocrite face even more than before by insulting and disrespecting his highness Ayatollah Sistani," the Association of Qom Seminary Lecturers said in a statement. Damn right. (Courtesy Teheran Times)
Speaking of Traitors
Guess who Al Jazeera quotes in a news story/op ed on 2005 being the year Geroge Bush acquired the “Medusa Touch;” i.e., everything he’s touched has “turned to stone?” They also call him "President Medusa" in the piece.
Let’s see. There’s Times.com (The New York Times), the Associated Press, and Sen. Russell Feingold, (D-WI).
Gee, I hope that goes on their resumes. Ah for the good old days when aiding and abetting the enemy was called treason, not expressing one's intellectual acumen.
May you all move to a desert and come down with rectal warts.
GEORGE DUN GOOD
Kudos to President Bush for his speech last night (December 18). It was short and to the point and addressed to both sides of the proverbial aisle.
I can only hope that any erstwhile Chamberlains and Quislings or nascent Kennedys and Fondas, et al, actually listened to what he said, not what they wanted to hear.
I’m sure the media will have it buried somewhere, so you’ll have to hunt for it, but I'll simply say it reiterated why we’re doing what we’re doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In case anyone forgot.
I can only hope that any erstwhile Chamberlains and Quislings or nascent Kennedys and Fondas, et al, actually listened to what he said, not what they wanted to hear.
I’m sure the media will have it buried somewhere, so you’ll have to hunt for it, but I'll simply say it reiterated why we’re doing what we’re doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In case anyone forgot.
WANT TO HAVE SOME FUN THIS CHRISTMAS?
This isn’t my idea, but I wish it had been. I thank my friend Linda for passing it on to me.
Send the ACLU a Christmas card!
Since they’re so busy trying to destroy just about anything moral, ethical or safe in our lives, and since one of their BIG functions appears to be removing any semblance of the word God or its derivatives from our lives, why not send them a Christmas card?
Three things:
Make sure it’s a religious card
Make sure it says Merry Christmas.
Keep it clean and non-confrontational
It won’t hurt to mention Christmas trees are Christmas trees; nobody cares that the 10 Commandments appear in courts, schools, etc., because 90 percent of Americans are Christian of one form or the other and/or believe in the commandments; the same percentage don’t mind saying In GOD we trust, or GOD bless America; and the same percentage of Americans really wish the ACLU would get onto protecting something important … like us and our ACTUAL way of life, not the ACLU’s or some whacko’s interpretation of it. You may also want to tell them that when at war with, or looking for, a specific group of people, it’s not racial profiling when you stop people who fit that group; it’s called smarts.
Here’s the address:
ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
It’s 37 cents for a stamp … WELL worth it!
This has to go on your must do list.
Send the ACLU a Christmas card!
Since they’re so busy trying to destroy just about anything moral, ethical or safe in our lives, and since one of their BIG functions appears to be removing any semblance of the word God or its derivatives from our lives, why not send them a Christmas card?
Three things:
Make sure it’s a religious card
Make sure it says Merry Christmas.
Keep it clean and non-confrontational
It won’t hurt to mention Christmas trees are Christmas trees; nobody cares that the 10 Commandments appear in courts, schools, etc., because 90 percent of Americans are Christian of one form or the other and/or believe in the commandments; the same percentage don’t mind saying In GOD we trust, or GOD bless America; and the same percentage of Americans really wish the ACLU would get onto protecting something important … like us and our ACTUAL way of life, not the ACLU’s or some whacko’s interpretation of it. You may also want to tell them that when at war with, or looking for, a specific group of people, it’s not racial profiling when you stop people who fit that group; it’s called smarts.
Here’s the address:
ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
It’s 37 cents for a stamp … WELL worth it!
This has to go on your must do list.
16 December 2005
LIQUID COURAGE
Must be liquid courage … it’s Friday!
Those stirling examples of Americans in our Senate voted to block renewal of the Patriot Act. Remember THIS ball-less act, when the next IED or C-4 stuffed fanatic goes off inside OUR borders.
Politicians. Jeez, what a joke.
Those stirling examples of Americans in our Senate voted to block renewal of the Patriot Act. Remember THIS ball-less act, when the next IED or C-4 stuffed fanatic goes off inside OUR borders.
Politicians. Jeez, what a joke.
ATTA’ GIRL
Just want to take a moment amidst all this international doom and gloom, to proudly announce that my daughter Megan just graduated from her MBA program last night.
This young woman has been working her butt off since high school juggling school, career and not a little bit of fun, but still consistently excelling. She's attained everything she set out to do … though with Meg, I have a funny feeling the end isn’t even REMOTELY in sight
Congratulation, Megan, we’re incredibly proud of you
(No, she takes after me. No, me. No, me. No, me)
This young woman has been working her butt off since high school juggling school, career and not a little bit of fun, but still consistently excelling. She's attained everything she set out to do … though with Meg, I have a funny feeling the end isn’t even REMOTELY in sight
Congratulation, Megan, we’re incredibly proud of you
(No, she takes after me. No, me. No, me. No, me)
THE SCUM ALSO RISES
The New York Times, after sitting on the story for what it said has been a year, announced that since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been monitoring e-mail and phone conversations of Americans calling and transmitting overseas. President Bush signed off on it, though the monitoring was called off last year. Traditionally the NSA - like the CIA - handles overseas stuff while the Fibbies handle domestic stuff.
If anybody is having their Internet monitored, it’s me … hell, I’m on sites that don’t even exist and when I’ve had a Dewars or seven I write hate mail to the likes of Al Jazeera and whatnot.
All I gotta say is you wanna monitor me, feel free.
Since the elections in Iraq seem to have gone off rather well, I told you to watch the headlines today.
If anybody is having their Internet monitored, it’s me … hell, I’m on sites that don’t even exist and when I’ve had a Dewars or seven I write hate mail to the likes of Al Jazeera and whatnot.
All I gotta say is you wanna monitor me, feel free.
Since the elections in Iraq seem to have gone off rather well, I told you to watch the headlines today.
SWIFT AND DESTRUCTIVE?
According to a report on Al Jazeera about a half hour ago, Iran’s defense minister warned Israel that any attack it made on Iran would be met with a "swift and destructive response."
Does anybody running Iran have anything resembling intelligence or are they ALL doing stand-up comedy?
Oh well, if we won’t nuke those morons, maybe the Israelis will.
All I gotta say to Israel is: go get ‘em.
Does anybody running Iran have anything resembling intelligence or are they ALL doing stand-up comedy?
Oh well, if we won’t nuke those morons, maybe the Israelis will.
All I gotta say to Israel is: go get ‘em.
EVER HEARD OF RUDY G?
A piece written by Eugene Robinson on today’s Washington Post.Com is titled “Where’s Bush? Not in New Orleans.” The op-ed piece starts out “New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been guilty of hyperbole in the past, with his exaggerated reports of mayhem and death in the days after Hurricane Katrina made its tragic landfall.”
“…has been guilty of hyperbole in the past … exaggerated reports of mayhem and death…”?
I realize this is an op-ed, but is Robinson out of his mind? Or is he succumbing to good old “It’s too close to Christmas for anyone to pay attention” journalism?
[An aside to my readers. Journalism’s dirty little secret #1: Newspaper writing during the Christmas season has a greater incidence of regurgitation of old stories, facts, figures, themes, etc., than any other time of year. This actually is a real fact that we know and you don’t. But now you do, courtesy of LRRP’s World.]
Exaggerated reports? Nagin sounded like Chicken Little … and showed just about as much leadership.
Using Ray Nagin as an example for anything other than a symbol of how NOT to administer a city when a crisis occurs is like using Hitler as a role model for race relations.
And Nagin had a guy named Rudy Giuliani to emulate on administering a city during a clusterfuck.
Please, Mr. Robinson (chuckle) spare us what George Bush didn’t do … what didn’t the mayor of the new Atlantis do?
And while you’re at, Robinson, take a look around the Gulf. There are better things that epitomize the lack of governmental assistance than the town of New Orleans and its ineffectual mayor.
Robinson is an associate editor for WAPO who writes about politics and culture; but like most “objective” journalists has trouble with facts getting in the way of opinion. I’m sure his “real” journalism reflects the same “objectivity.”
Typical WAPO.
“…has been guilty of hyperbole in the past … exaggerated reports of mayhem and death…”?
I realize this is an op-ed, but is Robinson out of his mind? Or is he succumbing to good old “It’s too close to Christmas for anyone to pay attention” journalism?
[An aside to my readers. Journalism’s dirty little secret #1: Newspaper writing during the Christmas season has a greater incidence of regurgitation of old stories, facts, figures, themes, etc., than any other time of year. This actually is a real fact that we know and you don’t. But now you do, courtesy of LRRP’s World.]
Exaggerated reports? Nagin sounded like Chicken Little … and showed just about as much leadership.
Using Ray Nagin as an example for anything other than a symbol of how NOT to administer a city when a crisis occurs is like using Hitler as a role model for race relations.
And Nagin had a guy named Rudy Giuliani to emulate on administering a city during a clusterfuck.
Please, Mr. Robinson (chuckle) spare us what George Bush didn’t do … what didn’t the mayor of the new Atlantis do?
And while you’re at, Robinson, take a look around the Gulf. There are better things that epitomize the lack of governmental assistance than the town of New Orleans and its ineffectual mayor.
Robinson is an associate editor for WAPO who writes about politics and culture; but like most “objective” journalists has trouble with facts getting in the way of opinion. I’m sure his “real” journalism reflects the same “objectivity.”
Typical WAPO.
15 December 2005
WE DON’T MIND YOU MAKING MONEY, BUT … GIMME A BREAK
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report today (December 15) that noted that government contractors were reaping huge amounts – as in billions of dollars worth – of Department of Defense (DoD) incentive fee awards while completion times ran up to nearly three years behind schedule and in once instance 99.5 percent over contract cost!
The only bright side of the report noted that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) tried to link its awards to performance (as in “you’ll get the incentive money if the damn thing can knock something down.”), but it seems like they were about the only ones.
For example: the Comanche helicopter program showed a $3.7 billion (41.2 percent) increase over its “baseline,” the Raptor F/A-22, a $10.2 (47.3 percent) billion overage, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) had a $10.1 billion (30.1 percent) increase, etc.
The Comanche was 33 months late, the Raptor 27 months, and the JSF "only" 11 months.
Boeing-Sikorsky got $202.5 million (or 85 percent) of the possible incentives on the Comanche (through 2004); Boeing took another $848.7 million in incentives on the Raptor, or about 91 percent of the available cash; while Lockheed Martin got all its incentive money ($494 million) for the JSF.
These are INCENTIVE payments. Not payments for the work/product/whatever.
Now, I believe in capitalism, but how about doing it MDA style: when you’re on time, and the thing works completely, you get your incentive bonus.
That’s an awful lot of cash doled out … that shouldn’t have been because it was INCENTIVE money. What was the DoD incentive? To be late and more expensive than contracted? Talk about a Merry Christmas!
It’s shit like this gives the military industrial complex a bad name. There's a lot more in the report, and I'm sure you'll see/hear all about it in the coming week. Of course, it'll be President Bush's fault some how, but ...
Remember: you read it first in LRRP’s World.
The only bright side of the report noted that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) tried to link its awards to performance (as in “you’ll get the incentive money if the damn thing can knock something down.”), but it seems like they were about the only ones.
For example: the Comanche helicopter program showed a $3.7 billion (41.2 percent) increase over its “baseline,” the Raptor F/A-22, a $10.2 (47.3 percent) billion overage, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) had a $10.1 billion (30.1 percent) increase, etc.
The Comanche was 33 months late, the Raptor 27 months, and the JSF "only" 11 months.
Boeing-Sikorsky got $202.5 million (or 85 percent) of the possible incentives on the Comanche (through 2004); Boeing took another $848.7 million in incentives on the Raptor, or about 91 percent of the available cash; while Lockheed Martin got all its incentive money ($494 million) for the JSF.
These are INCENTIVE payments. Not payments for the work/product/whatever.
Now, I believe in capitalism, but how about doing it MDA style: when you’re on time, and the thing works completely, you get your incentive bonus.
That’s an awful lot of cash doled out … that shouldn’t have been because it was INCENTIVE money. What was the DoD incentive? To be late and more expensive than contracted? Talk about a Merry Christmas!
It’s shit like this gives the military industrial complex a bad name. There's a lot more in the report, and I'm sure you'll see/hear all about it in the coming week. Of course, it'll be President Bush's fault some how, but ...
Remember: you read it first in LRRP’s World.
VOTING IN PEACE
With some sources estimating an 11 of the 15 million registered voters in Iraq turning out to vote in yesterday’s election, including a massive amount of Sunni Muslims, peace reigned. The next step is getting the ruling Shiites to share with the Sunnis without shooting everybody and then things will actually be looking up.
Of course, that bodes bad for al Qaeda, sooooooo …
But, but, but ... Does that means we may have accomplished what we set out to do?
I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s media headlines.
Of course, that bodes bad for al Qaeda, sooooooo …
But, but, but ... Does that means we may have accomplished what we set out to do?
I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s media headlines.
INSIGHT FROM THE BAD GUYS
This is part of a transcript made available by the The Jamestown Foundation, a policy advocate group specifying in Middle East, Asia and terrorism (www.jamestown.org)
The foundation's information outlet is the "Terrorism Monitor." Editor of TM, Mahan Abedin, conducted this interview with Saad al-Faqih, a Saudi opposition leader on December 12, 2005 in London. This is one excerpt of a fairly lengthy interview that covers Afghanistan,Iraq, Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda politics and tactics and more.
MA: What is the most striking feature about the letter? [A letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.]
SF: I think it shows that al-Qaeda secretly thinks it might have made a mistake by appointing Zarqawi as its leading representative in Iraq. Zarqawi is far too decisive as a commander, and this is what drives his arrogance. Some people say there are many people in the jihadi circles who are trying to reach bin Laden in order to convince him to remove Zarqawi as the local al-Qaeda commander in Iraq. The jihadi leaders in Iraq have largely kept silent but they are not at all happy with Zarqawi's conduct. One of their biggest criticisms is on Zarqawi's decision to stay and fight in Fallujah once the Americans decided to attack the town in November 2004. The other jihadi leaders wanted to avoid a direct large-scale confrontation with American forces and instead concentrate on exhausting them through a war of attrition. At that time the other jihadi leaders not only avoided criticizing Zarqawi but in fact decided to stay with his forces and fight the massive U.S. Marines assault on the town.
MA: Are there any other striking features about the letter?
SF: It indicates that Zawahiri remains al-Qaeda's main strategist and that his understanding of the battle space and how it will evolve in the immediate future surpasses that of any other strategist, whether jihadi or American.
The foundation's information outlet is the "Terrorism Monitor." Editor of TM, Mahan Abedin, conducted this interview with Saad al-Faqih, a Saudi opposition leader on December 12, 2005 in London. This is one excerpt of a fairly lengthy interview that covers Afghanistan,Iraq, Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda politics and tactics and more.
MA: What is the most striking feature about the letter? [A letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.]
SF: I think it shows that al-Qaeda secretly thinks it might have made a mistake by appointing Zarqawi as its leading representative in Iraq. Zarqawi is far too decisive as a commander, and this is what drives his arrogance. Some people say there are many people in the jihadi circles who are trying to reach bin Laden in order to convince him to remove Zarqawi as the local al-Qaeda commander in Iraq. The jihadi leaders in Iraq have largely kept silent but they are not at all happy with Zarqawi's conduct. One of their biggest criticisms is on Zarqawi's decision to stay and fight in Fallujah once the Americans decided to attack the town in November 2004. The other jihadi leaders wanted to avoid a direct large-scale confrontation with American forces and instead concentrate on exhausting them through a war of attrition. At that time the other jihadi leaders not only avoided criticizing Zarqawi but in fact decided to stay with his forces and fight the massive U.S. Marines assault on the town.
MA: Are there any other striking features about the letter?
SF: It indicates that Zawahiri remains al-Qaeda's main strategist and that his understanding of the battle space and how it will evolve in the immediate future surpasses that of any other strategist, whether jihadi or American.
HOW COOL IS TONY STEWART?
Cool enough to run a USAC midget race in Fort Wayne, Indiana on December 29 and 30. Stewart ran the race anonymously once before. He won it that time, and fans – and the track announcer – didn’t know it was Stewart until he removed his helmet in the winner’s circle. Stewart will race under his own name at the “Rumble in Fort Wayne” race.
You gotta appreciate a guy who remembers his roots … and a guy who hasn’t let fame or fortune (he scored over $13 million in prize and contingency fees in 2005) turn his head.
You gotta appreciate a guy who remembers his roots … and a guy who hasn’t let fame or fortune (he scored over $13 million in prize and contingency fees in 2005) turn his head.
WAR WORKS WONDERS
Oh, of course the war in Iraq had nothing to do with anything except the President’s (and the Right’s, Republican’s, etc.) egos.
Of course it had nothing to do with the 2500 dead Americans, the WTC, the Pentagon and planes falling out of the sky. Of course it had nothing to do with worldwide terrorism, oil flow and the removal of men who think WMDs are acceptable forms of disciplinary action.
And, it had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with freeing the Iraqi people.
Even the Bush-hating media has had to admit that the voter turnout in the Iraq elections is a damn sight larger than anything we turn out (then again, with half the people having to vote for idiots like Pelosi, Kennedy, Dean, etc., I wouldn’t vote either), and violence has been – so far (as of 0804/15 east Coast time) unexpectedly down.
Think the Iraqi people are speaking with their purple finger?
Of course it had nothing to do with the 2500 dead Americans, the WTC, the Pentagon and planes falling out of the sky. Of course it had nothing to do with worldwide terrorism, oil flow and the removal of men who think WMDs are acceptable forms of disciplinary action.
And, it had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with freeing the Iraqi people.
Even the Bush-hating media has had to admit that the voter turnout in the Iraq elections is a damn sight larger than anything we turn out (then again, with half the people having to vote for idiots like Pelosi, Kennedy, Dean, etc., I wouldn’t vote either), and violence has been – so far (as of 0804/15 east Coast time) unexpectedly down.
Think the Iraqi people are speaking with their purple finger?
14 December 2005
THANKS FOR THE TREES
Here's some people who aren't blowing their horns.
"One thousand Christmas trees arrived in Bahrain December 12 to be delivered to forward-deployed service members in the Middle East.
This is the second year in a row that New York businesses and veterans have coordinated with DHL, a worldwide shipping service, to fly Christmas trees to military members in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
New York businessman Jim Adelis approached DHL in 2004 with the idea that would later be coined “DHL Christmas Trees for Troops.”
Five hundred Christmas trees were flown to bases in Iraq, 300 were delivered to Afghanistan and 150 went to Kuwait. The rest were distributed to commands at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, including Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and tenant commands at the Aviation Unit. The shipment also included 4,000 boxes of lights and ornaments, and thousands of Christmas cards and letters."
(Courtesy of the Navy Newsstand: Journalist 2nd Class Cassandra Thompson, 5th Fleet Public Affairs)
"One thousand Christmas trees arrived in Bahrain December 12 to be delivered to forward-deployed service members in the Middle East.
This is the second year in a row that New York businesses and veterans have coordinated with DHL, a worldwide shipping service, to fly Christmas trees to military members in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
New York businessman Jim Adelis approached DHL in 2004 with the idea that would later be coined “DHL Christmas Trees for Troops.”
Five hundred Christmas trees were flown to bases in Iraq, 300 were delivered to Afghanistan and 150 went to Kuwait. The rest were distributed to commands at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, including Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and tenant commands at the Aviation Unit. The shipment also included 4,000 boxes of lights and ornaments, and thousands of Christmas cards and letters."
(Courtesy of the Navy Newsstand: Journalist 2nd Class Cassandra Thompson, 5th Fleet Public Affairs)
MAINSTREAM PLAYS CATCH UP ... AS USUAL
Not much worth talking about today.
Army of One Done
The US Army changed advertising agencies, so those of you who didn't like the "Army of One" campaign - I never understood it, and didn't like it - can bid it adieu.
He Really IS Crazy
Watch for all the media saying that the president of Iran is a lunatic or words to that effect. I still want to see an Arclight go into Teheran. Of course, they'll use words like eccentric, controversial, outlandish, etc. What they mean is he's a maniac and a danger and needs to be whacked. And we're more than capable of doing the whacking.
Now What Will They Do?
You'll also want to watch how the Democrat Party liberals handle President Bush's "the buck stops here" speech regarding acting on faulty intel. If even one of them knew ANYthing about history they'd know that EVERY war starts with faulty or misinterpreted intel (WW II was one massive faulty intel war, so was Korea and Viet Nam. It's called "history."). Let's see what the Kennedy/Kerry/Pelosi/Dean cabal, et al, come up with now.
Hey, maybe it'll be a plan. But I wouldn't hold my breath.
King Kong Rules
Seems like the latest remake of the big ape story is hot stuff. The critics are raving about it. Then again, they're also raving about the cowboy movie about the gay cowboys, which happens to feature a love scene. And that's an important "fil-em" because why?
What's-His-Name Is Dead
The guy who killed the four people back in the 80s that all the Hollywood talking heads wanted reprieved. Tuesday night his stomach jumped twice and he went to sleep ... permanently. Sounds better than being shot in a hold up, but what do I know? His lawyer swears she's going to prove the government killed an innocent man. I'll print it and mea culpa if she proves it. In related news, O.J.Simpson is still looking for the killers of his wife and her friend; Robert Blake is assisting him.
December 15 is Election Day
In Iraq. Stay tuned.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. And remember the men and women who make it possible ... our military. Tomorrow is going to be a rough one for them.
Army of One Done
The US Army changed advertising agencies, so those of you who didn't like the "Army of One" campaign - I never understood it, and didn't like it - can bid it adieu.
He Really IS Crazy
Watch for all the media saying that the president of Iran is a lunatic or words to that effect. I still want to see an Arclight go into Teheran. Of course, they'll use words like eccentric, controversial, outlandish, etc. What they mean is he's a maniac and a danger and needs to be whacked. And we're more than capable of doing the whacking.
Now What Will They Do?
You'll also want to watch how the Democrat Party liberals handle President Bush's "the buck stops here" speech regarding acting on faulty intel. If even one of them knew ANYthing about history they'd know that EVERY war starts with faulty or misinterpreted intel (WW II was one massive faulty intel war, so was Korea and Viet Nam. It's called "history."). Let's see what the Kennedy/Kerry/Pelosi/Dean cabal, et al, come up with now.
Hey, maybe it'll be a plan. But I wouldn't hold my breath.
King Kong Rules
Seems like the latest remake of the big ape story is hot stuff. The critics are raving about it. Then again, they're also raving about the cowboy movie about the gay cowboys, which happens to feature a love scene. And that's an important "fil-em" because why?
What's-His-Name Is Dead
The guy who killed the four people back in the 80s that all the Hollywood talking heads wanted reprieved. Tuesday night his stomach jumped twice and he went to sleep ... permanently. Sounds better than being shot in a hold up, but what do I know? His lawyer swears she's going to prove the government killed an innocent man. I'll print it and mea culpa if she proves it. In related news, O.J.Simpson is still looking for the killers of his wife and her friend; Robert Blake is assisting him.
December 15 is Election Day
In Iraq. Stay tuned.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. And remember the men and women who make it possible ... our military. Tomorrow is going to be a rough one for them.
13 December 2005
WAR FRONT NEWS YOU WON'T HEAR ABOUT
FBI Needs to Answer Questions
One of the first things to watch for – and why the media hasn’t picked this up yet is a mystery – is how deep American civil liberties have allowed pro-jihad-appearing domestic and/or naturalized Muslims to infiltrate the FBI.
Yes, THAT Federal Bureau of Investigation. A pairing to look for is FBI investigator Gamal Abdel-Hafiz and Florida-based professor Sami al-Arian. If there is substance to the rumors that Hafiz did his utmost to insure al-Arian didn’t get convicted of aiding and abetting Palestinian plots to assassinate and kill Americans, the FBI has a much bigger problem that worrying about pictures of J.Edgar in a dress.
The full article can be found on the American Congress for Truth site.
Germany the Next France?
That’s not something you hear everyday, but conditions are ripe in Germany for Muslim riots of French proportion. A German-to-English-translated article in The New York Times Magazine of December 4 should be an eye opener for German politicians – and weak-kneed liberals of every country – on what happens when kow-towing and trying to please all groups – ethnic, religious, social, et al – without any thought to the ramifications.
Kudos to the mag (yes, I said congratulations to The New York Times) for running the article … even if no fanfare was attached.
According to a German-based Muslim institute, there are some 3.2 million Muslims in Germany, nearly 15,000 of which are German born. That info comes courtesy of the Islamic Republic News Agency.
It Ain’t Over Even If the Fat Lady DOES Sing
The Syria Times, a daily out of Damascus, is beating the drums about how it has helped Lebanon end its civil war/occupation and is being unfairly blamed for killing journalists and politicians there. Now, THERE’S a tinderbox ready to ignite.
For some reason I can’t help but think that the wrong assassination/murder in Syria, Lebanon or Israel (though the latter seem to have more sense) would have all the implications of the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That, you’ll recall, ignited World War I … and the other conditions that existed in Europe at that time are surprisingly similar to conditions in North Africa today.
Poppies. That Will Put Them To Sleep
(Title from The Wizard of Oz).
Bad news, good news department, depending on whether you’re a junky, drug dealer or cop. Afghanistan’s poppy/heroin production is said to be up for this year. What happened to the good old days when buying heroin was part of a military program. Oh. That’s right. It didn’t work. Sorry, sorry. It never happened.
One of the first things to watch for – and why the media hasn’t picked this up yet is a mystery – is how deep American civil liberties have allowed pro-jihad-appearing domestic and/or naturalized Muslims to infiltrate the FBI.
Yes, THAT Federal Bureau of Investigation. A pairing to look for is FBI investigator Gamal Abdel-Hafiz and Florida-based professor Sami al-Arian. If there is substance to the rumors that Hafiz did his utmost to insure al-Arian didn’t get convicted of aiding and abetting Palestinian plots to assassinate and kill Americans, the FBI has a much bigger problem that worrying about pictures of J.Edgar in a dress.
The full article can be found on the American Congress for Truth site.
Germany the Next France?
That’s not something you hear everyday, but conditions are ripe in Germany for Muslim riots of French proportion. A German-to-English-translated article in The New York Times Magazine of December 4 should be an eye opener for German politicians – and weak-kneed liberals of every country – on what happens when kow-towing and trying to please all groups – ethnic, religious, social, et al – without any thought to the ramifications.
Kudos to the mag (yes, I said congratulations to The New York Times) for running the article … even if no fanfare was attached.
According to a German-based Muslim institute, there are some 3.2 million Muslims in Germany, nearly 15,000 of which are German born. That info comes courtesy of the Islamic Republic News Agency.
It Ain’t Over Even If the Fat Lady DOES Sing
The Syria Times, a daily out of Damascus, is beating the drums about how it has helped Lebanon end its civil war/occupation and is being unfairly blamed for killing journalists and politicians there. Now, THERE’S a tinderbox ready to ignite.
For some reason I can’t help but think that the wrong assassination/murder in Syria, Lebanon or Israel (though the latter seem to have more sense) would have all the implications of the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That, you’ll recall, ignited World War I … and the other conditions that existed in Europe at that time are surprisingly similar to conditions in North Africa today.
Poppies. That Will Put Them To Sleep
(Title from The Wizard of Oz).
Bad news, good news department, depending on whether you’re a junky, drug dealer or cop. Afghanistan’s poppy/heroin production is said to be up for this year. What happened to the good old days when buying heroin was part of a military program. Oh. That’s right. It didn’t work. Sorry, sorry. It never happened.
YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME!
The Teheran Times (that’s the newspaper’s real name) is complaining about our Secretary of State’s unsuccessful ability to lie about prisoner interrogation and torture. The Teheran Times, mind you. As I keep on saying … you can’t make this shit up.
(Those of you too young to understand the title of this piece: it was part of an Oscar winning speech by actress Sally Fields that was satirized for years. The details behind the speech are a long story, but I felt I had to explain that since I do have a tendency to get a little obscure at time. Hey… I’m writing all this stuff, so I get to amuse myself now and again. But I digress …).
In fairness to the Teheran Times (chuckle, chuckle. I can’t help it), the newspaper did front-page the results of a 1700-person opinion poll regarding life in Iraq. It found:
•A majority wanted a united Iraq with a strong central government.
•71 percent said things were currently very or quite good in their personal lives.
•64 percent said things would be better in the coming year.
•57 percent said focusing on restoring public security had to be a priority for a new government. 10 percent said removing U.S. forces was a priority, while rebuilding infrastructure came in third.
We doubt you’ll read the 10 percent number anywhere in the US, but this is straight off the pages of the Teheran Times.
(Those of you too young to understand the title of this piece: it was part of an Oscar winning speech by actress Sally Fields that was satirized for years. The details behind the speech are a long story, but I felt I had to explain that since I do have a tendency to get a little obscure at time. Hey… I’m writing all this stuff, so I get to amuse myself now and again. But I digress …).
In fairness to the Teheran Times (chuckle, chuckle. I can’t help it), the newspaper did front-page the results of a 1700-person opinion poll regarding life in Iraq. It found:
•A majority wanted a united Iraq with a strong central government.
•71 percent said things were currently very or quite good in their personal lives.
•64 percent said things would be better in the coming year.
•57 percent said focusing on restoring public security had to be a priority for a new government. 10 percent said removing U.S. forces was a priority, while rebuilding infrastructure came in third.
We doubt you’ll read the 10 percent number anywhere in the US, but this is straight off the pages of the Teheran Times.
12 December 2005
THE REAL DEAL – DECEMBER 15
We take voting for granted in America, but in Iraq the concept is not only new, but is literally dangerous, something of which Americans have NO conception.
December 15, the Iraqis get to vote for a third time. Every Iraqi who votes stands a very real risk of being turned into a chum slick when they go to vote.
Americans don’t vote if it rains or snows, never mind if someone shoots at them.
Bottom line: With all the hoo-hah coming from both sides pro or anti Iraq policy, the successful completion of installing a semblance of a democratic government is the quickest way to get our people home.
Anyone arguing that point is at best dishonest at worst murderous.
December 15 … mark it down. You don’t have to dye your thumb purple in solidarity, but a purple ribbon won’t hurt.
Now we’ll see who “supports the troops.”
December 15, the Iraqis get to vote for a third time. Every Iraqi who votes stands a very real risk of being turned into a chum slick when they go to vote.
Americans don’t vote if it rains or snows, never mind if someone shoots at them.
Bottom line: With all the hoo-hah coming from both sides pro or anti Iraq policy, the successful completion of installing a semblance of a democratic government is the quickest way to get our people home.
Anyone arguing that point is at best dishonest at worst murderous.
December 15 … mark it down. You don’t have to dye your thumb purple in solidarity, but a purple ribbon won’t hurt.
Now we’ll see who “supports the troops.”
11 December 2005
HEADLINES FOR SIMPLETONS
From the Sunday, December 11, 2005 edition of The New York Times:
“Military’s Information War is Vast and Often Secretive”
Duh? Ya think so?
Going on to prove the liberal press doesn’t even realize how ridiculous they can be - especially when they're serious - the piece is subtitled: “Pentagon Uses Soldiers and Consultants to Send Its Message to Muslim World”
Double duh.
I guess it would be much better if propaganda was limited and overt. And I'm sure it would be much better to use journalists and civilians with no knowledge of information dissemination to get the word out to people to whom we don't have to convince or explain anything.
This was a front page headline! I'm telling you … you canNOT make this stuff up.
One headline did catch my eye, however – and it's one most would be happy to see: “Bush, in a Landslide.” Unfortunately it’s about Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.
Oh well, we can dream, can’t we?
As for the Times: Is there anything you consider "unfit to print?"
“Military’s Information War is Vast and Often Secretive”
Duh? Ya think so?
Going on to prove the liberal press doesn’t even realize how ridiculous they can be - especially when they're serious - the piece is subtitled: “Pentagon Uses Soldiers and Consultants to Send Its Message to Muslim World”
Double duh.
I guess it would be much better if propaganda was limited and overt. And I'm sure it would be much better to use journalists and civilians with no knowledge of information dissemination to get the word out to people to whom we don't have to convince or explain anything.
This was a front page headline! I'm telling you … you canNOT make this stuff up.
One headline did catch my eye, however – and it's one most would be happy to see: “Bush, in a Landslide.” Unfortunately it’s about Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.
Oh well, we can dream, can’t we?
As for the Times: Is there anything you consider "unfit to print?"
09 December 2005
FREE STRATEGY SESSION
In light of the recent lunatic pronouncements out of the leader of Iran about the relocation of Israel:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need an Arclight strike in Teheran.
Preferably during a meeting of the ruling council. These guys are medievally insane, no one will miss them (believe me, their own mother’s won’t), we’ll be doing North Africa a favor, and we’ll be helping out the Iraqis as well, which means we'll be helping our people.
No ground follow up, just an Arclight. And then we deny having done it regardless of any and all evidence to the contrary. Arclight 'em instead of using a laser guided missile. Arclights are a lot more impressive to watch ... from afar!
Even better. Arclight them, then say we killed the tall skinny rich kid murderer, Bin Laden. And no matter what videos HE sends, we say he's dead. That'll finish him as well.
Hell, Teheran’s almost an express flight from Diego Garcia, how hard could this be? And I’m sure the B-52 guys are bored anyway.
Jeez, but I ought to get paid for thinking like this.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need an Arclight strike in Teheran.
Preferably during a meeting of the ruling council. These guys are medievally insane, no one will miss them (believe me, their own mother’s won’t), we’ll be doing North Africa a favor, and we’ll be helping out the Iraqis as well, which means we'll be helping our people.
No ground follow up, just an Arclight. And then we deny having done it regardless of any and all evidence to the contrary. Arclight 'em instead of using a laser guided missile. Arclights are a lot more impressive to watch ... from afar!
Even better. Arclight them, then say we killed the tall skinny rich kid murderer, Bin Laden. And no matter what videos HE sends, we say he's dead. That'll finish him as well.
Hell, Teheran’s almost an express flight from Diego Garcia, how hard could this be? And I’m sure the B-52 guys are bored anyway.
Jeez, but I ought to get paid for thinking like this.
LUCKY TO BE ME
My wife says that to me all the time, and I have to admit it’s true more often than not.
Just back in from the West Coast where I spent time with the men and women of the Coast Guard’s National Motor Lifeboat School (NMLS) at Cape Disappointment, Washington on the Columbia River, home to the infamous Columbia River Bar – the Graveyard of the Pacific.
I get to work with the military in various capacities – generally at least once a year – and I always come away proud to be able to say that these folks represent the cream of the crop when it comes to exemplifying all that it really means to be an American. Honor, duty, service, responsibility … all the words that people pay lip service to without ever understanding what it takes to back them up. These are the people who put money where the rest of our mouths are.
Thanks for allowing me into your world last week.
I wish all the staff at NMLS, all the students I met from the Coast Guard stations around the US, and the Guardsmen of Station Cape Disappointment, best wishes for Christmas and the holidays.
Thanks for the jobs you do.
Just back in from the West Coast where I spent time with the men and women of the Coast Guard’s National Motor Lifeboat School (NMLS) at Cape Disappointment, Washington on the Columbia River, home to the infamous Columbia River Bar – the Graveyard of the Pacific.
I get to work with the military in various capacities – generally at least once a year – and I always come away proud to be able to say that these folks represent the cream of the crop when it comes to exemplifying all that it really means to be an American. Honor, duty, service, responsibility … all the words that people pay lip service to without ever understanding what it takes to back them up. These are the people who put money where the rest of our mouths are.
Thanks for allowing me into your world last week.
I wish all the staff at NMLS, all the students I met from the Coast Guard stations around the US, and the Guardsmen of Station Cape Disappointment, best wishes for Christmas and the holidays.
Thanks for the jobs you do.
MORE … IT’S ONLY FREEDOM OF SPEECH WHEN WE SAY SO
More from the culture wars, from the liberal’s/left’s "our way or the highway" speak.
•A San Francisco police officer who produced a parody Christmas video was suspended because the video spoofed nearly every category of resident in San Francisco. Up to 20 other officers may be involved and disciplined as well.
•Diviners “R” Us. It’s being reported Mel Gibson is doing a film with a Holocaust theme. Because his Passion of Christ was considered anti Semitic, some Jewish groups are already demanding he explain what he’s doing and/or withdraw from the project. Gibson had no response, but apparently it’s okay to hate something of which you’ve never seen or have any knowledge.
•Going Once, Twice … The left’s latest heart throb (there’s possibly a pun there!) Edward “Tookie” Williams is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday unless the governor of California grants him clemency. Williams was convicted (and not by an all-white jury as reported. So, okay, there was only one black person aboard. It still wasn’t all white and it only takes one person to hang a jury) of executing four people during robberies.
Williams is an unapologetic cofounder of the Crips street gang. Ostensibly, he has done some good work vis a vis children and street gangs while in prison, and – only in America or Sweden – was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless. Edwards took the lives of four people, was rolled over on by fellow Crips, and was sentenced to die.
If you really want to teach a lesson, teach that there are consequences to EVERY thing we do in life … and consequences eventually come payable.
•Narnia Too Christian. Likening C.S.Lewis’ Narnia sagas to Tolkien’s tales is fair since they were friends and colleagues. What isn’t … and what you’ll be seeing/reading more of are reviews about Narnia’s “strong religious imagery.” Lewis used most of his tales to advance Christian teaching/learning, but today's moviegoer will be hard pressed to not get lost in the tale itself, rather than any intended teaching.
Nonetheless, watch the media reviews and the words “strong religious imagery” as they come front and center … the usage won’t be complimentary.
•A San Francisco police officer who produced a parody Christmas video was suspended because the video spoofed nearly every category of resident in San Francisco. Up to 20 other officers may be involved and disciplined as well.
•Diviners “R” Us. It’s being reported Mel Gibson is doing a film with a Holocaust theme. Because his Passion of Christ was considered anti Semitic, some Jewish groups are already demanding he explain what he’s doing and/or withdraw from the project. Gibson had no response, but apparently it’s okay to hate something of which you’ve never seen or have any knowledge.
•Going Once, Twice … The left’s latest heart throb (there’s possibly a pun there!) Edward “Tookie” Williams is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday unless the governor of California grants him clemency. Williams was convicted (and not by an all-white jury as reported. So, okay, there was only one black person aboard. It still wasn’t all white and it only takes one person to hang a jury) of executing four people during robberies.
Williams is an unapologetic cofounder of the Crips street gang. Ostensibly, he has done some good work vis a vis children and street gangs while in prison, and – only in America or Sweden – was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless. Edwards took the lives of four people, was rolled over on by fellow Crips, and was sentenced to die.
If you really want to teach a lesson, teach that there are consequences to EVERY thing we do in life … and consequences eventually come payable.
•Narnia Too Christian. Likening C.S.Lewis’ Narnia sagas to Tolkien’s tales is fair since they were friends and colleagues. What isn’t … and what you’ll be seeing/reading more of are reviews about Narnia’s “strong religious imagery.” Lewis used most of his tales to advance Christian teaching/learning, but today's moviegoer will be hard pressed to not get lost in the tale itself, rather than any intended teaching.
Nonetheless, watch the media reviews and the words “strong religious imagery” as they come front and center … the usage won’t be complimentary.
NASCAR AND STREISAND
Bet THAT got your attention.
Seems as if NASCAR is getting more mainstream everyday. First, it’s the special edition Sports Illustrated with champ Tony Stewart on the cover and the Home Depot “orange” theme, and now this.
Hey, you don’t have to hit the media over the head with a shovel just to get their attention. Why, next thing you know they’ll discover soccer and Formula One.
According to Friday’s Los Angeles Times (LAT), the 56-year-old National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) announced an eight-year, $4.48-billion television deal Wednesday that will pay the racing organization 40 percent more per year beginning in 2007, than it receives under its current agreement.
At $555 million, NASCAR would rank fourth in annual revenue for televised professional sports, behind the NFL at $3.735 billion, the NBA's $767 million and Major League Baseball's $713 million.
NASCAR's 36-race season will be shared by Fox, ABC, ESPN and TNT. ABC will televise at least 11 of the season's last 17 races, including the entire 10-race Chase for the Championship.
As for the very odd, very liberal and very annoying recluse with the great pipes.
In other LAT news, Barbara Streisand, enraged by the paper’s canning of a liberal columnist, cancelled her subscription to the paper.
Apparently it’s either a slow day out West, or Los Angeles really is La-La Land
Seems as if NASCAR is getting more mainstream everyday. First, it’s the special edition Sports Illustrated with champ Tony Stewart on the cover and the Home Depot “orange” theme, and now this.
Hey, you don’t have to hit the media over the head with a shovel just to get their attention. Why, next thing you know they’ll discover soccer and Formula One.
According to Friday’s Los Angeles Times (LAT), the 56-year-old National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) announced an eight-year, $4.48-billion television deal Wednesday that will pay the racing organization 40 percent more per year beginning in 2007, than it receives under its current agreement.
At $555 million, NASCAR would rank fourth in annual revenue for televised professional sports, behind the NFL at $3.735 billion, the NBA's $767 million and Major League Baseball's $713 million.
NASCAR's 36-race season will be shared by Fox, ABC, ESPN and TNT. ABC will televise at least 11 of the season's last 17 races, including the entire 10-race Chase for the Championship.
As for the very odd, very liberal and very annoying recluse with the great pipes.
In other LAT news, Barbara Streisand, enraged by the paper’s canning of a liberal columnist, cancelled her subscription to the paper.
Apparently it’s either a slow day out West, or Los Angeles really is La-La Land
FREEDOM OF SPEECH OR WHERE ARE THE RIOT BATONS WHEN YOU NEED ‘EM?
You may fight to protect the civil rights of Americans, but when it comes to practicing exercising those rights apparently it is a one-way street. Here’s an example.
Anne Coulter was booed so vehemently (by a 100-or-so students) during a speech at the University of Connecticut that she stopped trying to speak and held a Q&A session instead.
Prior to stopping she noted former president Bill Clinton was an “executive buffoon” who was elected only because Ross Perot grabbed 19 percent of the vote, and called California ‘s screaming liberal senator Barbara Boxer, a good candidate for the Democrats because she’s, “…a woman and she’s learning disabled …”
Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism (ya think?) and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech. But in the tradition of all great liberals noted: "We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech." Knudsen is head of Students Against Hate and, apparently, an oracle.
Coulter has been through this many times and handles idiocy and one-sidedness well. “I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," she said.
I thank media e-news compiler mediabistro.com for the heads up on this. They titled their blurb “SOMETIMES THE VAST LEFT-WING CONSPIRACY WINS A BATTLE.”
Of course the Fourth Estate is unbiased … EVEN when it’s reporting on itself.
Anne Coulter was booed so vehemently (by a 100-or-so students) during a speech at the University of Connecticut that she stopped trying to speak and held a Q&A session instead.
Prior to stopping she noted former president Bill Clinton was an “executive buffoon” who was elected only because Ross Perot grabbed 19 percent of the vote, and called California ‘s screaming liberal senator Barbara Boxer, a good candidate for the Democrats because she’s, “…a woman and she’s learning disabled …”
Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism (ya think?) and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech. But in the tradition of all great liberals noted: "We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech." Knudsen is head of Students Against Hate and, apparently, an oracle.
Coulter has been through this many times and handles idiocy and one-sidedness well. “I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," she said.
I thank media e-news compiler mediabistro.com for the heads up on this. They titled their blurb “SOMETIMES THE VAST LEFT-WING CONSPIRACY WINS A BATTLE.”
Of course the Fourth Estate is unbiased … EVEN when it’s reporting on itself.
03 December 2005
BYE-BYE CHRISTIAN PEACE TEAM
The organization responsible for sending its volunteer workers into Iraq unescorted and unprotected is blaming the US and Great Britain for the abduction of four of its members. The four appeared in a video on an Arab satellite television station, as did their masked armed gun carrying abductors.
“We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and UK governments, due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,” the group said in a communiqué.
I’m angry that our guys will have to go deeper into harm’s way looking for these mutts whose “human rights” organization has previously said that if they get snatched they don’t expect any assistance.
Yeah, right.
Anyway, the kidnappers will kill them if …who cares why …
Hey, I’ve got an idea!
The ACLU is suing the CIA over terror suspects being taken outside US legal jurisdiction.
How about we grab some of dirt bag ACLU lawyers and do an even swap. It’s not like I care who you chop, but given a choice I’d prefer it was someone from the ACLU.
What about it Abdul ????
“We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and UK governments, due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,” the group said in a communiqué.
I’m angry that our guys will have to go deeper into harm’s way looking for these mutts whose “human rights” organization has previously said that if they get snatched they don’t expect any assistance.
Yeah, right.
Anyway, the kidnappers will kill them if …who cares why …
Hey, I’ve got an idea!
The ACLU is suing the CIA over terror suspects being taken outside US legal jurisdiction.
How about we grab some of dirt bag ACLU lawyers and do an even swap. It’s not like I care who you chop, but given a choice I’d prefer it was someone from the ACLU.
What about it Abdul ????
ONLY IN AMERICA
One Georgetown (Washington, DC) Marriot refused to hold symposium on the grounds that the sponsoring organization was too controversial and the venue inappropriate for this type of forum, while another area Marriot okayed the conference scheduled for its premises.
Which of the symposia were rejected:
The People’s Truth Forum (PTF; a homeland security watch organization) discussion on terrorism; or the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) 11th Annual Banquet, which featured a speaker whose name keeps popping up in investigations of things like the 1993 WTC bombing (and others)?
Yup. The PTF conference on terrorism. Marriot officials told one of the keynote speakers that it was a business decision made because the conference would require too much security, and draw crowds “…leading to confrontations with hotel guests and/or room cancellations."
After researching the matter, the Marriott's corporate office supported the local decision and issued the following statement: "Due to the high density of Muslim students on campus, we're afraid of the potential for violent protests, injured employees and damage to the facility."
Well, kiss my ass. Now the bastards are running corporate policy.
Only in America.
Which of the symposia were rejected:
The People’s Truth Forum (PTF; a homeland security watch organization) discussion on terrorism; or the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) 11th Annual Banquet, which featured a speaker whose name keeps popping up in investigations of things like the 1993 WTC bombing (and others)?
Yup. The PTF conference on terrorism. Marriot officials told one of the keynote speakers that it was a business decision made because the conference would require too much security, and draw crowds “…leading to confrontations with hotel guests and/or room cancellations."
After researching the matter, the Marriott's corporate office supported the local decision and issued the following statement: "Due to the high density of Muslim students on campus, we're afraid of the potential for violent protests, injured employees and damage to the facility."
Well, kiss my ass. Now the bastards are running corporate policy.
Only in America.
CASUALTIES
Aside from truth, most of the casualties are of the human kind, and the one’s I’m concerned about most are of our military.
Our prayers go out to the families of the 10 grunts of the 2nd Marine division killed Thursday in the IED ambush near Fallujah, as well as the other military who’ve died as part of a bad week in Iraq. The former attack also killed 11 Iraq military.
Two things to note:
The media relishes our over-2,000 KIA number; it doesn’t note anything about the enemy KIA (that would be ghoulish!), doesn’t note anything about the civilian KIA by us OR the terrorists; doesn't note numbers of fielded Iraq military; doesn't note numbers of people saved by American intervention (which can be extrapolated becasue they sure have the numbers of how many were being killed daily before we got there); etc.
Remember: the anti-American cabal doesn’t care who dies as long as it’s Americans and the numbers in the casualty box grow. The object is to weaken American will to do what is right for America.
Lastly: It’s time to “nuke” Fallujah.
Our prayers go out to the families of the 10 grunts of the 2nd Marine division killed Thursday in the IED ambush near Fallujah, as well as the other military who’ve died as part of a bad week in Iraq. The former attack also killed 11 Iraq military.
Two things to note:
The media relishes our over-2,000 KIA number; it doesn’t note anything about the enemy KIA (that would be ghoulish!), doesn’t note anything about the civilian KIA by us OR the terrorists; doesn't note numbers of fielded Iraq military; doesn't note numbers of people saved by American intervention (which can be extrapolated becasue they sure have the numbers of how many were being killed daily before we got there); etc.
Remember: the anti-American cabal doesn’t care who dies as long as it’s Americans and the numbers in the casualty box grow. The object is to weaken American will to do what is right for America.
Lastly: It’s time to “nuke” Fallujah.
STUFF YOU WON’T SEE REPORTED
This is condensed off the UPI wire, but you won’t see it in YOUR newspaper because it has “no relevance” to what’s going on.
•In an October 5 Kuala Lumpur datelined website posting, al-Qaida's Southeast Asian Division threatened to attack Southeast Asian nations. The 41,000-word "declaration of war" said, "All the things that we will do are savage acts against humans who do not want to believe in Allah. The world is changing, and the venue of holy war is getting greater. The war between Islam and the unbelievers is getting sharper.''
•In the wake of two November 29 suicide bomb blasts in Bangladesh, officials are worried that fundamentalists want to establish a Taliban-style Islamic state in their country. Thirteen people were killed and over 50 injured by the blasts.
A police officer said that a note found at one site on one of the suspected bombers' corpses reportedly warned the police, judges and lawyers to "stop upholding man-made laws which go against Islam."
•Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi described Iraq's border with Syria as a "source of evil" and warned Damascus that his government's patience was running out.
During a visit to the western border town of Husaybah, al-Dulaimi said "My brothers, this is historic, national and legitimate mission. You are protecting this gate at the western border that used to be a source of evil to Iraq and a source for the entrance of vampires into Iraq. We tell our neighbors, take care of your own affairs and don't interfere in Iraq's affairs ... Iraqis are heading for the future and they will not be stopped by a car bomb or a filthy body rigged with explosives. You should not be a gate of evil to us. I hope you will be a good gate. I also tell them don't let our patience run out. This evil alliance between Muslim extremists and Baathists in Iraqi will not succeed."
•In an October 5 Kuala Lumpur datelined website posting, al-Qaida's Southeast Asian Division threatened to attack Southeast Asian nations. The 41,000-word "declaration of war" said, "All the things that we will do are savage acts against humans who do not want to believe in Allah. The world is changing, and the venue of holy war is getting greater. The war between Islam and the unbelievers is getting sharper.''
•In the wake of two November 29 suicide bomb blasts in Bangladesh, officials are worried that fundamentalists want to establish a Taliban-style Islamic state in their country. Thirteen people were killed and over 50 injured by the blasts.
A police officer said that a note found at one site on one of the suspected bombers' corpses reportedly warned the police, judges and lawyers to "stop upholding man-made laws which go against Islam."
•Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi described Iraq's border with Syria as a "source of evil" and warned Damascus that his government's patience was running out.
During a visit to the western border town of Husaybah, al-Dulaimi said "My brothers, this is historic, national and legitimate mission. You are protecting this gate at the western border that used to be a source of evil to Iraq and a source for the entrance of vampires into Iraq. We tell our neighbors, take care of your own affairs and don't interfere in Iraq's affairs ... Iraqis are heading for the future and they will not be stopped by a car bomb or a filthy body rigged with explosives. You should not be a gate of evil to us. I hope you will be a good gate. I also tell them don't let our patience run out. This evil alliance between Muslim extremists and Baathists in Iraqi will not succeed."
THE LIBERAL-LEFTY-GIRLYMAN PLAN FOR IRAQ AND THE WAR ON TERROR
“Thankyou very much.”
Elvis has Left the building.
Elvis has Left the building.
INTERESTING WEEK MUSCIALLY
Cool stuff that happened this week in the music/culture wars from the folks at www.musiciansfriends.com. See if any of this makes you go “No kiddin’!” or “I didn’t know that.”
1957: Ed Sullivan hosts the TV debuts of Sam Cooke, and Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
1968: Graham Nash quits the Hollies, then announces the formation of Crosby, Stills and Nash.
1969: Altamont Speedway concert with the Stones; Airplane; Santana; and C, S, N and Y on the playbill and the Hell’s Angels providing security. Four people are killed. The documentary of the debacle, “Gimme Shelter” (many consider it marks the end of the flower generation) shows the following year.
1971: The Montreux Casino in Geneva, Switzerland, catches fire during a show by the Mothers of Invention, inspiring Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water.” Deep Purple was across Lake Geneva from Montreaux watching the fire from their hotel and the smoke drifted across the lake … hence the song's title.
1972: Carly Simon releases "You're So Vain," a song which sets the whole country to wondering exactly who is so insufferably vain. Candidates include Mick Jagger (who sang on the record), Cat Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, and Warren Beatty. When asked if she's "gone with" Beatty, she says, "Hasn't everybody?" She later notes: "I felt I was one among thousands at that point – it hadn't reached, you know, the populations of small countries." In 2003 she volunteers to tell the highest bidder at a charity auction who the song is actually about, but only if the winner will abide by a confidentiality agreement. NBC exec Dick Ebersol paid $50,000, but he's not talking.
1976: Bob Marley and the Wailers are rehearsing at Marley's house in Kingston, Jamaica, when seven gunmen appear and shower the house with a hail of gunfire. Marley, wife Rita, and manager Don Taylor are all hit but miraculously nobody is seriously injured. The band plays a gig two nights later.
1976: the Sex Pistols' Glenn Matlock uses the "F" word during an English TV interview and the resulting uproar proves that the Brits can be every bit as priggish and sanctimonious as the Yanks. Most of the Pistols' upcoming gigs are cancelled and by the next month they can't book a date anywhere in the U.K.
1986: Annie Lennox, lead singer for the Eurythmics, gets so carried away at a concert in Birmingham, England, that she rips off her bra, which is the only thing covering her breasts. This does not cause a national scandal, nor bring down the monarchy or British civilization like a latter similar Super Bowl event does.
1988: Roy Orbison dies; 1993: Frank Zappa dies at 53; 1996: Tiny Tim, (born Herbert Khaury) dies.
1957: Ed Sullivan hosts the TV debuts of Sam Cooke, and Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
1968: Graham Nash quits the Hollies, then announces the formation of Crosby, Stills and Nash.
1969: Altamont Speedway concert with the Stones; Airplane; Santana; and C, S, N and Y on the playbill and the Hell’s Angels providing security. Four people are killed. The documentary of the debacle, “Gimme Shelter” (many consider it marks the end of the flower generation) shows the following year.
1971: The Montreux Casino in Geneva, Switzerland, catches fire during a show by the Mothers of Invention, inspiring Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water.” Deep Purple was across Lake Geneva from Montreaux watching the fire from their hotel and the smoke drifted across the lake … hence the song's title.
1972: Carly Simon releases "You're So Vain," a song which sets the whole country to wondering exactly who is so insufferably vain. Candidates include Mick Jagger (who sang on the record), Cat Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, and Warren Beatty. When asked if she's "gone with" Beatty, she says, "Hasn't everybody?" She later notes: "I felt I was one among thousands at that point – it hadn't reached, you know, the populations of small countries." In 2003 she volunteers to tell the highest bidder at a charity auction who the song is actually about, but only if the winner will abide by a confidentiality agreement. NBC exec Dick Ebersol paid $50,000, but he's not talking.
1976: Bob Marley and the Wailers are rehearsing at Marley's house in Kingston, Jamaica, when seven gunmen appear and shower the house with a hail of gunfire. Marley, wife Rita, and manager Don Taylor are all hit but miraculously nobody is seriously injured. The band plays a gig two nights later.
1976: the Sex Pistols' Glenn Matlock uses the "F" word during an English TV interview and the resulting uproar proves that the Brits can be every bit as priggish and sanctimonious as the Yanks. Most of the Pistols' upcoming gigs are cancelled and by the next month they can't book a date anywhere in the U.K.
1986: Annie Lennox, lead singer for the Eurythmics, gets so carried away at a concert in Birmingham, England, that she rips off her bra, which is the only thing covering her breasts. This does not cause a national scandal, nor bring down the monarchy or British civilization like a latter similar Super Bowl event does.
1988: Roy Orbison dies; 1993: Frank Zappa dies at 53; 1996: Tiny Tim, (born Herbert Khaury) dies.
F-14 TOMCAT
Great images for you aviation buffs:
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Oceana2005/Tomcats/index.html
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Oceana2005/Tomcats/index.html
02 December 2005
2006 THUNDERBIRDS SCHEDULE
March
25-26 Ft. Smith, AR
April
1-2 Punta Gorda, FL
8 Maxwell AFB, AL
9 Columbus AFB, MS
22-23 Tyndall AFB, FL
29-30 March AFB, CA
May
6-7 Langley AFB, VA
13-14 Robins AFB, GA
20 Altus AFB, OK
21 Dyess AFB, TX
27-28 Cannon AFB, NM
31 USAFA, CO
June
3-4 Beale AFB, CA
10-11 Hill AFB, UT
17-18 NASJRB Willow Grove, PA
24-25 North Kingston, RI
July
1 Kirtland AFB, NM
3-4 Battle Creek, MI
8-9 Duluth, MN
15-16 Milwaukee, WI
22 Grand Forks AFB, ND
23 Casper, WY
26 Cheyenne, WY
29-30 Fairchild AFB, WA
August
12-13 Scott AFB, IL
19-20 Burlington, VT
23 Atlantic City, NJ
26-27 Mt. Comfort, IN
September
2-4 Gary, IN
9-10 McConnell AFB, KS
15-17 Reno, NV
23-24 Rockford, IL
30 Ft. Worth (Alliance), TX
October
1 Ft. Worth (Alliance), TX
7-8 NAS Patuxent River, MD
15 Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC
21-22 Houston, TX
28-29 Edwards AFB, CA
November
4-5 Lackland AFB, TX
11-12 Nellis AFB, NV
25-26 Ft. Smith, AR
April
1-2 Punta Gorda, FL
8 Maxwell AFB, AL
9 Columbus AFB, MS
22-23 Tyndall AFB, FL
29-30 March AFB, CA
May
6-7 Langley AFB, VA
13-14 Robins AFB, GA
20 Altus AFB, OK
21 Dyess AFB, TX
27-28 Cannon AFB, NM
31 USAFA, CO
June
3-4 Beale AFB, CA
10-11 Hill AFB, UT
17-18 NASJRB Willow Grove, PA
24-25 North Kingston, RI
July
1 Kirtland AFB, NM
3-4 Battle Creek, MI
8-9 Duluth, MN
15-16 Milwaukee, WI
22 Grand Forks AFB, ND
23 Casper, WY
26 Cheyenne, WY
29-30 Fairchild AFB, WA
August
12-13 Scott AFB, IL
19-20 Burlington, VT
23 Atlantic City, NJ
26-27 Mt. Comfort, IN
September
2-4 Gary, IN
9-10 McConnell AFB, KS
15-17 Reno, NV
23-24 Rockford, IL
30 Ft. Worth (Alliance), TX
October
1 Ft. Worth (Alliance), TX
7-8 NAS Patuxent River, MD
15 Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC
21-22 Houston, TX
28-29 Edwards AFB, CA
November
4-5 Lackland AFB, TX
11-12 Nellis AFB, NV
2006 BLUE ANGELS SKED
Don't miss them if you can help it. (Thunderbirds coming up ASAP.)
March
11: Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif.
18-19: Sacramento, Calif.
25-26: Tampa, Fla.
April
1-2: Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville, Texas
8: Charleston Air Force Base (AFB), S.C.
22-23: Louisville, Ky.
29-30: NAS Atlanta, Ga.
May
5-6: Fort Lauderdale, Fa.
13-14: NAS Fort Worth, Texas
19-21: Andrews AFB, Md.
24: U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
26: U.S. Naval Academy Graduation Flyover, Annapolis, Md.
27-28: Jones Beach, N.Y.
June
3-4: Davenport, Iowa
10-11: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
16-17: Leeuwarden Air Base, The Netherlands
24-25: Barnes Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Westfield, Mass.
July
1-2: Traverse City, Mich.
8-9: Pittsburgh, Pa.
15-16: Pensacola Beach, Fla.
22-23: Sioux Falls, S.D.
29-30: Dayton, Ohio
August
4-6: Seattle, Wash.
12-13: Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
18-20: Chicago, Ill.
September
2-4: Cleveland, Ohio
9-10: NAS Oceana, Va.
16-17: Kansas City, Kan.
23-24: Lincoln, Neb.
30: Nantucket, Mass.
October
1: Nantucket, Mass.
7-8: San Francisco, Calif.
14-15: Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, Calif.
21-22: Goodyear, Ariz.
28-29: NAS Jacksonville, Fla.
November
4-5: Little Rock AFB, Ark.
10-11: NAS Pensacola, Fla.
March
11: Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif.
18-19: Sacramento, Calif.
25-26: Tampa, Fla.
April
1-2: Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville, Texas
8: Charleston Air Force Base (AFB), S.C.
22-23: Louisville, Ky.
29-30: NAS Atlanta, Ga.
May
5-6: Fort Lauderdale, Fa.
13-14: NAS Fort Worth, Texas
19-21: Andrews AFB, Md.
24: U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
26: U.S. Naval Academy Graduation Flyover, Annapolis, Md.
27-28: Jones Beach, N.Y.
June
3-4: Davenport, Iowa
10-11: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
16-17: Leeuwarden Air Base, The Netherlands
24-25: Barnes Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Westfield, Mass.
July
1-2: Traverse City, Mich.
8-9: Pittsburgh, Pa.
15-16: Pensacola Beach, Fla.
22-23: Sioux Falls, S.D.
29-30: Dayton, Ohio
August
4-6: Seattle, Wash.
12-13: Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
18-20: Chicago, Ill.
September
2-4: Cleveland, Ohio
9-10: NAS Oceana, Va.
16-17: Kansas City, Kan.
23-24: Lincoln, Neb.
30: Nantucket, Mass.
October
1: Nantucket, Mass.
7-8: San Francisco, Calif.
14-15: Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, Calif.
21-22: Goodyear, Ariz.
28-29: NAS Jacksonville, Fla.
November
4-5: Little Rock AFB, Ark.
10-11: NAS Pensacola, Fla.
DAMN THE CHICKENSHITS
Thanks to the effort of those who no longer heed the warison the images of burnt and crushed civilians, bodies falling out of the 90th floor of the WTC, dead emergency personnel and actions of incredible bravery on September 11, 2001, launched – I’m talking of the usual assortment of mind-numbing cowards, doddering leftists, home-based anti-Americans (take a look at who’s who in ANSWER, the “anti-war” coalition), plus the sheep who are unable to disseminate information for themselves – it looks like the campaign to pull us out of Iraq prematurely is succeeding.
Bulgaria and Ukraine announced they will begin withdrawing their combined 1,250 troops by mid-December, leaving Australia (combat), Britain (combat), Italy (indig training), Japan (construction) Poland (indig training) and South Korea (construction).
This is a result of what is perceived by the rest of the world as the usual lack of backbone of the American people; who knows how fast the rest will go.
If you don’t think your lack of will isn’t killing American soldiers, watch what happens in the coming days. The primeval mutts (aided and abetted by the aforementioned Asses of America) we’re fighting haven’t even the sense to let the situation evolve out to its obvious conclusion – our departure.
And note what happens in Afghanistan, a bellwether country in the terrorist wars. We’ve abandoned them before. It’s only a matter of time before the attacks on Americans start succeeding; then it’s onto the beheadings and stonings of the locals once again.
I will sit back, comfort the returnees to CONUS the best I am able and spit on the rest of you and your progeny who YOUR cowardice will leave open to more acts of mindless mass murder.
I’ve been through this before and your actions disgust and bewilder me. How is it possible to be so incredibly ignorant of the capital-letter-sized lessons of history? Do you ACTUALLY think pulling troops out of Iraq at this stage of the hunt will stop mass murderers from striking us again? Do you even CARE what happens to our unsupported troops?
Cowardice and a lack of moral backbone are the only answers.
Write this down: The next attack on American soil will be as horrid=fic as the last and will occur solely becasue we have ceased the pursuit.
And brand this one on your foreheads: YOUR ACTIONS ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF AMERICAN TROOPS.
QUITE THE PERTINENT QUOTE
"Because as I look around the state of this nation and see all of the weak little pampered candy-asses that are whining about this or protesting that, I'd be afraid to leave the fate of this nation entirely up to them." — 1st Lt. Bruce Bishop explaining why he re-enlisted in the Utah National Guard.
Bulgaria and Ukraine announced they will begin withdrawing their combined 1,250 troops by mid-December, leaving Australia (combat), Britain (combat), Italy (indig training), Japan (construction) Poland (indig training) and South Korea (construction).
This is a result of what is perceived by the rest of the world as the usual lack of backbone of the American people; who knows how fast the rest will go.
If you don’t think your lack of will isn’t killing American soldiers, watch what happens in the coming days. The primeval mutts (aided and abetted by the aforementioned Asses of America) we’re fighting haven’t even the sense to let the situation evolve out to its obvious conclusion – our departure.
And note what happens in Afghanistan, a bellwether country in the terrorist wars. We’ve abandoned them before. It’s only a matter of time before the attacks on Americans start succeeding; then it’s onto the beheadings and stonings of the locals once again.
I will sit back, comfort the returnees to CONUS the best I am able and spit on the rest of you and your progeny who YOUR cowardice will leave open to more acts of mindless mass murder.
I’ve been through this before and your actions disgust and bewilder me. How is it possible to be so incredibly ignorant of the capital-letter-sized lessons of history? Do you ACTUALLY think pulling troops out of Iraq at this stage of the hunt will stop mass murderers from striking us again? Do you even CARE what happens to our unsupported troops?
Cowardice and a lack of moral backbone are the only answers.
Write this down: The next attack on American soil will be as horrid=fic as the last and will occur solely becasue we have ceased the pursuit.
And brand this one on your foreheads: YOUR ACTIONS ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF AMERICAN TROOPS.
QUITE THE PERTINENT QUOTE
"Because as I look around the state of this nation and see all of the weak little pampered candy-asses that are whining about this or protesting that, I'd be afraid to leave the fate of this nation entirely up to them." — 1st Lt. Bruce Bishop explaining why he re-enlisted in the Utah National Guard.
ICE LIBERTY
The men on the USS Charlotte, a Los Angeles-class attack sub, needed liberty. They only received 18 hours worth, and they had to break through 61 inches of ice to do it, but they had their liberty.
The sub, transiting under the Arctic pack from Pearl Harbor to Norfolk, Virginia, arrived at Norfolk on November 29. Once under the Pole the Charlotte did a 12 hour recon of the under ice using a variety of scanning technologies and then did a perfect vertical ascent through the ice … a record for a Los Angeles-class sub.
Wind chill was -50 (F), but some of the 154 men aboard took pictures, others filmed a spot for the Army-Navy (I’m sure they call it the Navy-Army) football game and others managed to play a game of football – under the lights, since it’s winter at the Pole.
The crew included a Royal Navy officer and one civilian Arctic specialist; along with other first time polar crossers they were christened Bluenoses as well.
“I couldn’t believe how dark it was at the Pole. It was pitch black and incredibly cold, but it was still really exhilarating,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Guadalupe Deleon, who was one of the first crew topside. “After all, how many people can say they have been at the North Pole?”
Thanks to Lt. (jg) Dave Ozeck, of Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force PA for the complete story.
The sub, transiting under the Arctic pack from Pearl Harbor to Norfolk, Virginia, arrived at Norfolk on November 29. Once under the Pole the Charlotte did a 12 hour recon of the under ice using a variety of scanning technologies and then did a perfect vertical ascent through the ice … a record for a Los Angeles-class sub.
Wind chill was -50 (F), but some of the 154 men aboard took pictures, others filmed a spot for the Army-Navy (I’m sure they call it the Navy-Army) football game and others managed to play a game of football – under the lights, since it’s winter at the Pole.
The crew included a Royal Navy officer and one civilian Arctic specialist; along with other first time polar crossers they were christened Bluenoses as well.
“I couldn’t believe how dark it was at the Pole. It was pitch black and incredibly cold, but it was still really exhilarating,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Guadalupe Deleon, who was one of the first crew topside. “After all, how many people can say they have been at the North Pole?”
Thanks to Lt. (jg) Dave Ozeck, of Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force PA for the complete story.
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