Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys..: April 8, 2007

April 14, 2007

As penance for the post on the Department of Peace...

...the Armorer of Argghhh! proudly presents... Gun Pr0n!

An expose of the fiddly bits of the Castle's Vulcan Arms V10-45, seen earlier this week, here.

Here he is, field stripped to his basics.

Field stripped V10-45

Slighty higher-res version here (that better, Brab?)

Looking deep into his guts, a look at the fiddly bits of the lower receiver.

The upper receiver and bolt assembly. There is a nylon buffer there, to keep the bolt from slapping the rear of the receiver.

Really, in concept, there is little to distinguish this design from the M3 grease gun, the major differences being the Grease Gun is tubular, and the V10's bolt wraps about the barrel at the breech (shown open here), saving overall length in the same manner the Uzi does.

But it's a bit clunky for a pistol. Vulcan does make a carbine version, but that didn't interest me. I'd get a 9mm version for SWWBO, except she thinks they're ugly, and wants something prettier.

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by John on Apr 14, 2007 | Gun Pr0n - A Naughty Expose' of the fiddly bits | Pistols

The Department of Peace.

It's Saturday, no one is going to read this anyway...

H.R. 808: Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act

Mr. Kucinich, et.al., have proposed the above. Hey - it was a part of his platform when he ran for President, give him marks for consistency.

Here are his co-sponsors, just for the record. I see many of the usual suspects
:

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. CARSON, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FARR, Mr. FILNER, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WATSON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

Thankfully, I don't see my representative, Ms. Boyda, on the list. Yet, anyway.

One thing the excess of academics has produced is an excess of ideas and shades of ideas, all pimped as New! Exciting! Revolutionary! By that I mean that doing research that ends up confirming old truths and knowledge is *not* the path to power and glory as an academic. So they are driven to New! Exciting! Revolutionary! In the hard sciences this is harder to do, given the nature of the business - but the tiffs over Global Warming, or the falsified cloning in Korea, Cold Fusion, etc, are examples. In the social sciences (!) we have the proliferation of studies that have profoundly damaged our schools, while studies that refute any of the New Exciting! Revolutionary! stuff is pooh-poohed, denigrated, savaged, and, well, doesn't contribute much to tenure or invitations to Oprah. Hence, we have many smart, ambitious people competing to make a mark, but there is a certain way they must do it - New! Exciting! Revolutionary! Or teach at second-rank schools. Or community colleges.

In politics it is the same, with even less control. Let's face it, Senator Byrd of West Virginia is only one bridge, public building and highway away from having the state effectively change it's name to the Senator Robert C. Byrd Memorial Political Unit. If you get a Bridge To Nowhere built, chances are good you can get your name on it. Get the money to repair all those named (for other people, shudder) bridges (a problem we have in Missouri, for example) and you are not going to be noticed by anybody, even though you will have done a much greater overall good.

So it is with the Department of Peace. Virtually everything proposed in this bill is *already* the responsibility of some other Federal agency. In some aspects, it's admitted in the bill:

(1) work proactively and interactively with each branch of the Federal Government on all policy matters relating to conditions of peace;

Heh. Department of Homeland Security anyone? Same general mission statement after a fashion. We all see how well that's gone. And this essentially proposes *another* layer to the process, as opposed to taking functions away from other agencies and consolidating them (something we see working so well with HLD).

There are some good ideas in there, which, gee, could be handled by existing agencies and interagency groups, would they just do so. But of course, establishing a whole new Cabinet-level agency will fix everything! Homeland Defense, anyone?

Update: Maggie's comment is too good to leave buried down there.

Grim, over at Blackfive has a funny take on it.
I hope we can avoid enacting this foolishness, but as TH notes, the bill enjoys broad support in the Democratic House. As a consolation prize, then, I hope we can see it enacted quickly, so that George W. Bush can exercise his recess appointment powers once more.
I can hear him now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming America's first Secretary of Nonviolence and Peace: Mr. Donald Rumsfeld."

LOL! Yes!

Now let's look at the bill itself. To spare those who don't care, we'll do that in the Flash Traffic/ Extended Entry.

Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows... �

Okay, lets get it on! My comments interspersed.

TITLE I--ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND NONVIOLENCE

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND NONVIOLENCE.

(a) Establishment- There is hereby established a Department of Peace and Nonviolence (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Department'), which shall--

(1) be a cabinet-level department in the executive branch of the Federal Government; and

(2) be dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace.

(b) Secretary of Peace and Nonviolence- There shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of Peace and Nonviolence (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Secretary'), who shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[Heh. Unfortunate echoes of 1984 aside, strikes me that we have one of these, mostly. The Secretary of State.]

(c) Mission- The Department shall--

(1) hold peace as an organizing principle, coordinating service to every level of American society;

[Oddly enough, I think most of us actually subscribe to this already in one fashion or another. If your local churches, schools, law enforcement, government and society in general aren't already really after this sort of thing - a new Federal agency is going to make all the difference. Yep.]

(2) endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; [see above]

(3) strengthen nonmilitary means of peacemaking;

[State and Defense should be doing this already. The fact that they aren't doing it all that well suggests that a little leadership on the issue will help a lot more than... a third agency. Creating another cabinet level agency will allow the other two to abdicate their responsibilities no matter how "proactively and interactively" you work with them. Homeland Defense, anyone?]

(4) promote the development of human potential;

[There's a phrase capable of creating much mischief.]

(5) work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict, use field-tested programs, and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute resolution;

[Department of State, anyone?]

(6) take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict;

[Departments of State and Defense. Just because you think they aren't doing it the way you want is an argument for leadership and direction, not establishing a competing agency.]

(7) address matters both domestic and international in scope; and

[State, Justice, Interior, HUD, Education, Commerce, Labor, HHS, oh, all of them, for pete's sake. Adding one more is going to make a difference?]

(8) encourage the development of initiatives from local communities, religious groups, and nongovernmental organizations.

[See above.]

SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS.

(a) In General- The Secretary shall--

(1) work proactively and interactively with each branch of the Federal Government on all policy matters relating to conditions of peace;

[D-uh, one would hope. Of course, one would hope State and Defense and Homeland Defense would, too. And they do, when it suits their purposes. Creating one more player is going to help exactly how?]

(2) serve as a delegate to the National Security Council;

[If they're going to exist, yeah, they should. Okay.]

(3) call on the intellectual and spiritual wealth of the people of the United States and seek participation in its administration and in its development of policy from private, public, and nongovernmental organizations; and

[All the agencies can and do just that. I often do exactly this for the government already. From that perspective, I welcome a new Federal agency that has money to spend. Heh. It's not like people aren't falling all over themselves (see discussion on Academics) to provide this already.]

(4) monitor and analyze causative principles of conflict and make policy recommendations for developing and maintaining peaceful conduct.

[And this will be an improvement over the various and sundry academic institutions already doing this exactly how? Just because someone works for the government doesn't suddenly make them smarter or infallible. It just makes them *think* they are. I can say that. I worked for the government.]

(b) Domestic Responsibilities- The Secretary shall--

(1) develop policies that address domestic violence, including spousal abuse, child abuse, and mistreatment of the elderly;

[Heh. I was completely unaware that Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, etc were completely overlooking this issue.]

(2) create new policies and incorporate existing programs that reduce drug and alcohol abuse;

[See above.]

(3) develop new policies and incorporate existing policies regarding crime, punishment, and rehabilitation;

[Ibid.]

(4) develop policies to address violence against animals;

[Local communities handle that already, eh? Is it *really* a federal interest outside of regulating interstate commerce in food products - something they already do.]

(5) analyze existing policies, employ successful, field-tested programs, and develop new approaches for dealing with the implements of violence, including gun-related violence and the overwhelming presence of handguns;

[See, Justice, Homeland Security. Leave aside the 2nd Amendment issues inherent. Aside - in the "Congress Finds" that precedes the bill, there is this note:

(5) The Founders of this country gave America a vision of freedom for the ages and provided people with a document which gave this Nation the ability to adapt to an undreamed of future.
(6) It is the sacred duty of the people of the United States to receive the living truths of our founding documents and to think anew to develop institutions that permit the unfolding of the highest moral principles in this Nation and around the world.

...what's missing is: "Except, of course, where we disagree with them, in which case they were misogynistic slave-owning weasels."]

(6) develop new programs that relate to the societal challenges of school violence, gangs, racial or ethnic violence, violence against gays and lesbians, and police-community relations disputes;

[See Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, et.al. One more isn't going to make a difference.]

(7) make policy recommendations to the Attorney General regarding civil rights and labor law;

[See above. This capability exists in the government and society at large already.]

(8) assist in the establishment and funding of community-based violence prevention programs, including violence prevention counseling and peer mediation in schools;

[See above the above, again.]

(9) counsel and advocate on behalf of women victimized by violence;

[Oh, gosh, HHS, Justice, state and local governments. In fact, creating a new agency is going to do mostly what - drain even more money into overhead that would instead be better focused on providing services. We don't need more people doing high-level bloviation - if there's a need, it's at the point-of-service.]

(10) provide for public education programs and counseling strategies concerning hate crimes;

[Education, Justice, HHS, Salvation Army, United Way, Churches, Colleges and Universities, etc. See "draining funds" comment above.]

(11) promote racial, religious, and ethnic tolerance;

[What, we need more of this? We got all the promotion you can use. One more voice isn't going to make a difference in this arena. This is societal change, it happens by osmosis, and everybody already has a piece of this, from top to bottom.]

(12) finance local community initiatives that can draw on neighborhood resources to create peace projects that facilitate the development of conflict resolution at a national level and thereby inform and inspire national policy; and

[Read: Brand New Taxes to support our organization! Or starve other agencies. See "draining of funds" comment previously made.]

(13) provide ethical-based and value-based analyses to the Department of Defense.

[Heh. JAG and the Chaplaincy aren't enough, apparently. Perhaps if State would provide embedded diplomats (and Defense accept them) much of this would be covered. I do so love the insinuation inherent in the statement, though.]

(c) International Responsibilities- The Secretary shall--

(1) advise the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State on all matters relating to national security, including the protection of human rights and the prevention of, amelioration of, and de-escalation of unarmed and armed international conflict;

[And here I thought State was supposed to do that already. And if you think Defense is porking the pooch on this - what's going to make them listen to a new agency if they're igoring you already? See comments on Leadership]

(2) provide for the training of all United States personnel who administer postconflict reconstruction and demobilization in war-torn societies;

[*This* is a good idea. It doesn't take a cabinet level agency, however.]

(3) sponsor country and regional conflict prevention and dispute resolution initiatives, create special task forces, and draw on local, regional, and national expertise to develop plans and programs for addressing the root sources of conflict in troubled areas;

[This is a fine idea, already under the purview of State. And Defense, for that matter.]

(4) provide for exchanges between the United States and other nations of individuals who endeavor to develop domestic and international peace-based initiatives;

[See above. Not too mention all those academics already shuttling back and forth doing this stuff.]

(5) encourage the development of international sister city programs, pairing United States cities with cities around the globe for artistic, cultural, economic, educational, and faith-based exchanges;

[Um, gee, Leavenworth already has *two* sister cities, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, and Omi Hachiman, Japan. Looky, my little burg managed this *all* on it's own! However did we do it?]

(6) administer the training of civilian peacekeepers who participate in multinational nonviolent police forces and support civilian police who participate in peacekeeping;

[Okay fine by me - but doesn't require a new agency. Nope.]

(7) jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, strengthen peace enforcement through hiring and training monitors and investigators to help with the enforcement of international arms embargoes;

[Um, how 'bout just resource Treasury?]

(8) facilitate the development of peace summits at which parties to a conflict may gather under carefully prepared conditions to promote nonviolent communication and mutually beneficial solutions;

[Huh? There's been a dearth of those? Not enough? I missed *that* memo. See, State.]

(9) submit to the President recommendations for reductions in weapons of mass destruction, and make annual reports to the President on the sale of arms from the United States to other nations, with analysis of the impact of such sales on the defense of the United States and how such sales affect peace;

[Um, golly gee, like none of this already exists! Hint: It does. See, State, Defense, Treasury, CIA, DIA, etc. Want to affect analytical structure - tell 'em to include an annex that covers how such sales affect peace.]

(10) in consultation with the Secretary of State, develop strategies for sustainability and management of the distribution of international funds; and

[Um, sounds like State has that covered. They need help exactly how, that isn't just... draining funds?]

(11) advise the United States Ambassador to the United Nations on matters pertaining to the United Nations Security Council.

[Like he doesn't have enough people tugging at his sleeve already. Please.]

(d) Human Security Responsibilities- The Secretary shall address and offer nonviolent conflict resolution strategies to all relevant parties on issues of human security if such security is threatened by conflict, whether such conflict is geographic, religious, ethnic, racial, or class-based in its origin, derives from economic concerns (including trade or maldistribution of wealth), or is initiated through disputes concerning scarcity of natural resources (such as water and energy resources), food, trade, or environmental concerns.

[Already covered, in lots of places.]

(e) Media-Related Responsibilities- Respecting the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the requirement for free and independent media, the Secretary shall--

(1) seek assistance in the design and implementation of nonviolent policies from media professionals;

[*All* government agencies could benefit from this.]

(2) study the role of the media in the escalation and de-escalation of conflict at domestic and international levels and make findings public; and

[Oh, nobody does this already, then. Somebody check Lexis/Nexis.]

(3) make recommendations to professional media organizations in order to provide opportunities to increase media awareness of peace-building initiatives.

[Okay, you're going to have a Public Affairs weenie. Fine.]

(f) Educational Responsibilities- The Secretary shall--

(1) develop a peace education curriculum, which shall include studies of--

(A) the civil rights movement in the United States and throughout the world, with special emphasis on how individual endeavor and involvement have contributed to advancements in peace and justice; and

[See, Education, Department Of. See, Academia, Halls of.]

(B) peace agreements and circumstances in which peaceful intervention has worked to stop conflict;

[Ibid]

(2) in cooperation with the Secretary of Education--

(A) commission the development of such curricula and make such curricula available to local school districts to enable the utilization of peace education objectives at all elementary and secondary schools in the United States; and

[Ibid]

(B) offer incentives in the form of grants and training to encourage the development of State peace curricula and assist schools in applying for such curricula;

[See funds, draining of.]

(3) work with educators to equip students to become skilled in achieving peace through reflection, and facilitate instruction in the ways of peaceful conflict resolution;

[Ibid.]

(4) maintain a site on the Internet for the purposes of soliciting and receiving ideas for the development of peace from the wealth of political, social and cultural diversity;

[Doesn't need a Cabinet-level agency. Check Google, I think you'll find there's lots of 'em out there.]

(5) proactively engage the critical thinking capabilities of grade school, high school, and college students and teachers through the Internet and other media and issue periodic reports concerning submissions;

[See, Educators, Job of. That position is already taken, if badly in many places. I'm thinking adding another Federal Cabinet Agency will have *Zero* positive impact. See also, Funds, draining of.]

(6) create and establish a Peace Academy, which shall--

(A) be modeled after the military service academies;

[Really? Mandatory PT! Uniforms! Marching! Mandatory Study Time! Sports teams! The Ghandhis? The Kings? Okay, I'm betting we're going to model a little more loosely than that. Um, lessee, isn't that pretty much covered by the entire Ivy League? Seriously - if you want to do this to provide trained people to the existing Federal government agencies charged with this work - do it via targeted scholarships to existing programs and by encouraging establishment of more programs or a restructure of existing programs. But you don't need to go establish a whole new school. See Funds, draining of.]

(B) provide a 4-year course of instruction in peace education, after which graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international nonviolent conflict resolution; and

[Ibid]

(7) provide grants for peace studies departments in colleges and universities throughout the United States.

[Ibid]

As you might guess, I'm completely unconvinced. This bill, if implemented, would mostly represent Funds, draining of. And what the good ideas in here are only so because of bad implementation elsewhere. Rather than create a whole new bureaucracy, lets just have a little leadership in the ones we have.

Just sayin'.

I see Tigerhawk is also unimpressed.

� Secure this line!

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

A cabinet level position that would in part deal with violence against animals.

For pity's sake!

posted by Maggie on April 14, 2007 2:42 PM

As it's said: You can't make this stuff up.

PRIME veto material, assuming (a) the bill gets through the senate (doubtful) and (b) Dubya hasn't lost that veto pen/stamp/whatever...

One is left wondering... "don't these people have anything better to do?"

posted by Buck on April 14, 2007 5:32 PM

Frankly, I think that we should cause the leftists a collective heart attack and propose a bill to have the DOD given its original name back.

posted by Jon The Mechanic on April 14, 2007 7:47 PM

Snerk. Well, certainly if Mr. Kucinich gets his wish and there's a Department of Peace, then there will have to be a Department of War.

Ah, the vapors.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 14, 2007 8:20 PM

Oh come on, John. THink of all the idiots(like me!) that could now work for the gov't! You're just trying to freeze us out, you mean mean man. THnk of all the people that could now have healthcare, join the gov't unions, and all the other benefits that come from being a gov't employee? Tsk. You've just not gotten in touch with your feminine-caretaker side.(flees)

posted by ry on April 15, 2007 2:04 AM

Ry, if Kucinich would fund the other departments, and we installed a President and Secretaries to demonstrate the leadership, the government would expand and you could get your civil service job.

I'm not being mean, at least not to entry and mid-level CS types. I just don't wanna create another Secretariat...

Besides, you can't apply for any CS jobs in DC until your supervisor finishes her degree.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 15, 2007 9:21 AM

Grim, over at Blackfive has a funny take on it.

I hope we can avoid enacting this foolishness, but as TH notes, the bill enjoys broad support in the Democratic House. As a consolation prize, then, I hope we can see it enacted quickly, so that George W. Bush can exercise his recess appointment powers once more.
I can hear him now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming America's first Secretary of Nonviolence and Peace: Mr. Donald Rumsfeld."

LOL! Yes!

posted by Maggie on April 15, 2007 10:07 AM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by John on Apr 14, 2007 | Politics

VUMS.

That's the acronym of a veteran's organization I was completely unaware of.

Totally.Oblivious.

Why? Because it never occurred to me that a group with this common characteristic was large enough to support a veteran's organization.

I mean, I *knew* that these people served, and served honorably and well, and have throughout our history.

I just didn't know there were enough of them to form a veteran's organization with this one particular qualification.

And if you want to know what that is - check below the fold, in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry.

Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows... �

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

Chronological or intellectual age? Mental age? Emotional age?

Cheers

posted by J.M. Heinrichs on April 14, 2007 4:11 PM

My Great-Uncle Jules could have joined that. Lied about his age to get in on WWI. I'm glad there is a memorial.

posted by bad cat robot on April 14, 2007 4:55 PM

If it were anything other than chronological, John, the membership would be *huge*.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 14, 2007 4:58 PM

A special salute is due ADM Boorda, a good, decent, honorable and effective leader dedicated to serving his country, his Navy and his sailors. The Navy's mission as he defined it was to "put ordnance on target," not putz about with politically correct crapola. His tragic decision to end his life after chicken sh!t hectoring by scumbag politicians and "journalists" over murky minutae related to personal awards "V's" remains a sad commentary on the cess pool that is within the beltway. Boorda was one of the good guys, and when there are so few, each is truly missed even more.
"Naval Operations. Departed."

posted by John S. on April 14, 2007 11:01 PM

I think there was a guy at Iwo who got a Medal of Honor for throwing himself on not just one, but two grenades at once. And he lived. He was underage, I believe. After he got out of the hospital, he went home and finished high school.

posted by Justthisguy on April 14, 2007 11:26 PM

Back before this country was such a police-mommy busybody proctoscopic enterprise with cradle-to-grave records about everyone, this was much easier.

A common ploy during The War (1861-1865, all other wars would be "a" war) was to write the number 18 on a piece of paper and put it into one's shoe before donning same.

Then the aspiring soldier could semi-truthfully say to the recruiter who asked his age,

"I am over 18."

posted by justthisguy on April 14, 2007 11:41 PM

And, while I am sure exceptions still abound... I'm thinking kids were "harder," in general, back in the day, than they are now.

As in being able to pull off the looking and acting older part.

Of course, I just said what every gruff old soldier has said ever since there were armies - "Kids today are soft! Why, back when *I* was a kid..."

There. I gave you a straight line. Let's see who drops by to use it.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 15, 2007 9:25 AM

..back when you were a kid you had to give your age in Roman numerals. (btw, i was only XVII)

posted by MajMike on April 16, 2007 8:28 AM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by John on Apr 14, 2007 | Observations on things Military

April 13, 2007

H&I* Fires, 13 APR 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

*****************************
Chicken Soup for BCR's soul. Grrls are building booty-kicking robots.
--
Chicken Soup for the Armorer's soul: another artillery rocket being tested.
--
Blatantly stolen from Warhistorian: Nagl, he of the Soup With a Knife fame, says victory will cost more Servicemen their lives. Unfortunately, victory always costs people their lives, as does ambivalence and isolationism and retreat.
--ry
***********************

Fuzzybear wants me to point out the new body armor the Army is fielding. I think my favorite feature is the quick-release.

CAPT H sends us to Michael Yon, for his story on hangin' with the Poms. Hint - they're perhaps a bit tougher than a certain group of Naval Persons.

Patrick Lasswell, another independent journo in the box, on an unreported story from Iraq. SWWBO will really like this one. -the Armorer

**********************************

If you're all about illegal immigration, and want to actually *know* a blogger who is going to DC to lobby on the issue - in an official capacity - go visit Dan Amato at Digger's Realm. He has a request for assistance in getting there. -the Armorer

*********************************

A little on Small Wars, Crime and Trash Pick Up

2 Marines, 1 Corpsman and 40 Iraqis (video)

And, from yesterday's "Dutch, Afghan, Taliban duke it out", video of the fight - Kat

*********************************
*********************************

Breaking news! Do *you* know what day it is? Snarkatron does!

*********************************
********************************

Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows... �

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

The great thing about our new body armor is that it works. The disturbing thing is, well, that it works. America is seeing and will continue to see many more amputees than in the past because our body armor is saving the lives of those who would have died from the same attacks in past conflicts. That is why DoD is at the cutting edge of robotic prosthetics and we need to continue to figure out ways to fully incorporate our walking wounded back into our society. I think part of the problem we're having in America stems from the visual reminders of the cost of war. The elite (Blue Bloods), rather than owning up to the fact that someone else is paying their debt, are calling for an end to the conflict so they don't have to be so often reminded of their social responsibility and failure. God bless our troops. Never forget. ML

posted by Mike L on April 13, 2007 8:55 AM

Meanwhile, we'll just continuing pimping for Project Valour-IT around here.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 9:03 AM

Find, fix and finish. Ah, well - two out of three gets you into the hall of fame for MLB.

posted by lex on April 13, 2007 2:10 PM

Unlike the current, front-opening Interceptor vest, the new design is side-opening and features a cummerbund waist fastener so the weight of the vest rides on the lower torso rather than on the shoulders.
“Load distribution is the key,” said Lt. Col. Robert Myles, PEO Soldier’s product manager for soldier survivability. “The cummerbund really helps on the load distribution — that is new.”

I don't want to, you know, blow my own horn or anything, but I do wonder if anyone wants to hire me since I said to do this sometime ago.

and I said this:

In addition, the front and back plates can be adjusted up or down four inches to better conform to the body, Myles said. Designers had input from male and female soldiers to account for all body types, he said

Right here, here, and here

Glad somebody took my advice seriously. ;)

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 2:20 PM

Happy Triskaidekaphobia Day!

(SOMEONE around here likes the number 13 and thinks it to be his lucky number. Someone ELSE around here is having a really crappy 12th AND 13th and isn't inclined to agree with any GOOD luck associated with 13.)

posted by AFSister on April 13, 2007 2:30 PM

Speaking of body armor, has anyone heard of the "dragon" body armor? I saw one of those shows on the military channel where the guy was testing out whatever the "new" or "improved" thingy is out. In this episode, they were testing out this new type of armor called Dragon Armor, I think. Anyone heard of it?

posted by tankerswife on April 13, 2007 3:19 PM

Tankerswife, yup, it's been a minor controversy. The folks over at Col Hackworth's place have been all over it. Soldiers for the truth. It's been a two year saga. I know nothing about any of the particulars, but it's been something that's been fought over for a while.

posted by ry on April 13, 2007 3:29 PM

I'm glad to see someone paid attention to my ideas about body armor. Particularly about making it "cinched" at the waist to carry the weight and making it adjustable like Roman armor. You know, my three posts on that still get hit for "comparisons". LOL

Now if I could only prove that it was my idea and not great minds thinking alike, I would be filthy rich right now. ;)

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 7:13 PM

As for the "dragon" armor, it has pluses and minuses.

It's plus is that overlapping discs provide some additional security and are less likely to "break" completely. another plus is that it does allow for bending in ways that the straight armor plating doesn't. It is also been considered easier to remove and put on. Because it is flexible and overlapping, when it is hit by a bullet, the pressure is absorbed by a wider area, thus dissipating the power of a projectile and decreasing the ability to penetrate the armor (unlike plate armor which can shatter if hit at a specific rate of speed or range). However, because it is closer to the body and conforms, blunt force trauma is more of an issue, despite claims otherwise and it will not protect you any better in a knive fight.

The minuses are a few more: heavier than regular armor due to the number of discs and overlapping coverage; the "dragon skin" plates are triangular and do not provide as wide a coverage area in the front and back though they were some of the first to offer additional armor on the sides and for the lower back; while it will stop a 7.62mm bullet, in explosive situations, the discs can separate and become part of the shrapnel. It is also quite a bit more expensive than the "plate" armor because the many ceramic discs (costly to make compared to "plate") and have to be hand sewn into the armor, also more costly. Replacing it is more costly.

None of this is "new" in terms of "plate" armor v. "bar" or "chain" armor. medieval armorers had to take these trade offs as well. though flexible, chain mail armor could not deflect nor depreciate blunt force trauma from such weapons like maces or war hammers and when bigger and better arrow heads and bows were implemented, the chain and bar armor could be penetrated, taking pieces of the armor with it. So, while they might have lived from the actual arrow strike, the ensuing infections and other muscle/internal organ damage from the "shrapnel" created could cause infections and other egregious non-recoverable wounds.

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 7:43 PM

One thing I don't like about the new armor, at least from looking at the pictures I've seen, is the piece on the back of the head, between the helmet and the collar piece. It looks to me like it would be a royal PITA if you're trying to shoot in the prone position.

posted by Heartless Libertarian on April 13, 2007 8:32 PM

It looks to me like it would be a royal PITA if you're trying to shoot in the prone position.

Yup. But rotating the firing portion of your bod so that your LOS is perpendicular to your spine should stick the extra chunk over your shoulder instead of into the nape of your neck.

Kind of embarassing if you're trying to present a minimum frontal area toward the enemy, though it'd be my position of choice when shooting something with a decent cyclic rate of fire from behind a nice, solid building.

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 8:49 PM

I wonder if liquid-cooled armor is next. Sorta like the Apollo pressure-suit underwear. It gets right hot in Mesopotamia sometimes, from what I've read.

I mind H. Beam Piper, quoting Shakespeare about

" A rich armour, that scalds with safety."

posted by Justthisguy on April 14, 2007 1:33 AM

Ah, yes, Chief, when there is metal in the air, any prudent person gets behind something *thick* whether he is a participant in the games or not.

Thick and dense is even better.

I don't think there ain't nohow no thick dense parts of any hellaflopper ever built.

If you ever get to Heaven, you be sure and go visit Carborundum, or at least have a look in at the padded cell they have to keep him in these eons.

They might haul you up on charges for violating the CCDJ (Celestial Code of Divine Justice) for Abuse of Guardian Angel Services.

Don't worry too much, I'll put in a word with my Uncle George. He's a cop up there, having been a Marin

posted by Justthisguy on April 14, 2007 1:48 AM

That's "...having been a Marine.", dammit!

This thing truncates out the last character, or two!

......(that's some periods to get past the bug, don't bother to read thi

posted by Justthisguy on April 14, 2007 1:55 AM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by Denizens on Apr 13, 2007 | General Commentary

Denizens to the Breach!

Morning all.

The Armorer was kind enough to allow me to hijack ....errr........borrow the site for a fast request.

Being the foolish geeks we are over Techography World Domination Headquarters, we did something you would think a person of my background and 10 years military service would know better than to do: We volunteered.

Specifically to set up the chat whirly gig gizmo for you Milblogger Conference Virtual type people.

But I need a small favor from the Denizens, lurkers etc.

We need a load test. Which means as many folks who can jump on it, jump on it and we see how the system reacts.

The Link to the Chat is here. Bear in mind it's not pretty...yet...we're planning on fixing it up some and making it nice and purty. Meanwhile the chat program itself is done after a long sleepless night.

How about we say.....21:00 Central time? If thats acceptable to everyone? Tonight? Jump on for a impromptu Denizen meet and chat away. Lets see what this puppy can do!

And hey we'll even give you guys linky love and testing credits when it's all said and done :)
-BloodSpite

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

Heh. Does BCR know of your World Domination plans? While she's aiming for Evil Galactic Overlord, you better clear with her lest ye become a grease spot.

As for the rest, yeah, sure, whatever!

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 9:54 AM

Actually our plot places BCR directly as the World Dictator of All Things And Then Some.

We'll be her V.I.K.I or her Skynet

posted by BloodSpite on April 13, 2007 9:58 AM

Bwahahaha! Most Favored Minion status for you! And permission to use the #5 submarine when I don't need it.

posted by bad cat robot on April 13, 2007 10:30 AM

And for those not so disposed as to immediately process miltime, that would be 9PM Central, 10PM Eastern, 8PM Mountain, and 7PM in the PNW...

Heh. Shoulda used Zulu time, BS - then they'd really have been confused.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 10:32 AM

I'll join in to help test! What a buncha geeks we are - setting up a Chat test session on a Friday night, though ;-)

BS - Any way to record the event day discussions for those of us who will miss all the fun? Last year's sessions was a hoot.

posted by Barb on April 13, 2007 10:35 AM

Yeah, yeah, yeah.......I know zulu time. I don't need translations. I am fine with BCR ruling the world because I know that means Trader Joe's chocolate for everyone.
The important question is........who is bartending and is my barstool in a prominent spot?

posted by Maggie on April 13, 2007 10:39 AM

is my barstool in a prominent spot?

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 10:41 AM

Unfortunately the system we're using this year is much more formal than using than Yahoo chat we used last year.

This one will allow anyone with a web browser to participate without downloading anything. Unfortunately we won't be able to copy and paste the chat room itself without opening the log file, which we can do, but I'll have to get all the users permissions before I do that :)

Some of the neater features we set up last night are Private Chat ability. Basically you can "whisper" to someone something and ya'll can chat without anyone else "hearing" (or seeing)

Also multiple rooms, so to answer Maggie's question, once we get clearance from Andi we may set up a room called "Lounge" for the 18 and older crowd, as I'm pretty sure we're all going to end up with readers who want to participate as well.

Right now we just have 2 rooms. A Lobby, so to speak, and the Conference room. The latter we're going to dedicate to the video streaming crowd and to actual conference topics instead of just idle banter.

The general hope is, like in a theater, or opera, folks will connect "Lobby" with Idle banter etc. Or the Lounge :)

Also folks can create their own "rooms" so to speak. So if the Armorer for instance wants to set up a room just for the Denizens, he can do so...as long as someone stays in that room, the room will be open for all to join.

posted by BloodSpite on April 13, 2007 10:50 AM

Denizens to the Breach

That assumes we are the right caliber man for the job doesn't it?

2100? 9PM on a Friday night? May I quote the pro...

"The Water of Life

An elderly Scottish gentleman sitting in a pub was asked about the enjoyment of scotch whisky. He replied, "Moderation, aye sir, moderation is the key. 8 or 9 glasses can be a pleasant enough evening, but more than that is liable to degenerate into drinking."

posted by jim b on April 13, 2007 12:38 PM

I'll be on tonight. I want to check this out since I have a feeling I'll be unable to make it again this year.

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 12:56 PM

Yes, a prominent spot.
A spot surrounded by sailors.
A spot I can be truly appreciated from.
A spot near the rest of the Sugar Buttons Brigade.

A spot..........far.........away..........from

CONSPIRACY WOMAN

posted by Maggie on April 13, 2007 1:43 PM

The only place I want a barstool right now is under my swishy, luxurious tail. I'm in the mood to be serviced, as opposed to being the server tonight, so we still need a bartender.

posted by WereKitten on April 13, 2007 2:36 PM

"I'm in the mood to be serviced."

I am not touching that with a ten foot pole, except to say..........ME TOO! ME TOO! LOL posted by Maggie on April 13, 2007 2:48 PM

Maggie and WereKitten : "I'm in the mood to be serviced."
As if that's news?!

posted by Barb on April 13, 2007 4:55 PM

I guess somebody better charge up the rita machine batteries since I have a feeling the "puree" setting is not going to get it tonight. LOL

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 7:02 PM

Guys, thanks so much for stepping up with this. Awesome beyond words! :)

posted by FbL on April 13, 2007 7:43 PM

Maggie & Barb... I figured you'd agree. hehe

NOW... SERVE ME, OR ELSE I'LL SEND YOU TO THE KITCHEN TO DO DISHES.. SLAVE.

(maggs... we really missed out on making a mint on Woman Town. damn Chinese. trumped us again.)

posted by WereKitten on April 13, 2007 9:20 PM

Bloodspite.. the chatroom is DURN COOL. Thanks!!!

posted by AFSister on April 13, 2007 10:59 PM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by Denizens on Apr 13, 2007 | Computers and Privacy
� Techography links with: All the worlds a stage.....

More on ships and things Naval.

Having found another ship that looked odd to my taste, I thought I would continue with that meme for a bit, with this picture that tickled the historian in me.

French Gunboat Fusee in 1886.

The French gunboat Fusee. What's really interesting about it to me? Not so much the ship, which is from the transitional era, this photo being 1886, but because of all those obsolete leviathans in the upper left - the old wooden ships of the line, that not very long before, had been the epitome of naval power, now just sitting there being recycled into roof beams for dark smoky old taverns and such. For a better picture of the Fusee herself, click here.

In the previous discussion, we were gabbing about the not-so-vestigial masts, given the reliability of the rapid-developing steam propulsion technology of the time. Reader D. Hill sent us a link to this US vessel under sail - the Mahan-class USS Tucker (DD374)... in the 1930's.

Moving on to today's US Navy...

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense
No. 422-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2007
Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public/Industry(703) 428-0711

Navy Terminates Littoral Combat Ship 3

Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today that the Department of the Navy is
terminating construction of the third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 3) for convenience under the Termination clause of the contract because the Navy and Lockheed Martin could not reach agreement on the terms of a modified contract.

The Navy issued a stop-work order on construction on LCS 3 in January following a series of cost overruns on LCS 1 and projection of cost increases on LCS 3, which are being built by Lockheed Martin under a cost-plus contract.The Navy announced in March that it would consider lifting the stop-work order on LCS 3 if the Navy and Lockheed Martin could agree on the terms for a fixed price incentive agreement by mid-April.The Navy worked closely with Lockheed Martin to try to restructure the agreement for LCS-3 to more equitably balance cost and risk, but could not come to terms and conditions that were acceptable to both parties.

The Navy remains committed to completing construction on LCS 1 under the current contract with Lockheed Martin.LCS 2 and 4 are under contract with General Dynamics, and the Navy will monitor their cost performance closely.The Navy intends to continue with the plan to assess costs and capabilities of LCS 1 and LCS 2 and transition to a single seaframe configuration in fiscal year 10 after an operational assessment and considering all relevant factors.General Dynamics' ships will continue on a cost-plus basis as long as its costs remain defined and manageable.If the cost performance becomes unacceptable, then General Dynamics will be subject to similar restructuring requirements.

"LCS continues to be a critical warfighting requirement for our Navy to maintain dominance in the littorals and strategic choke points around the world," said Winter."While this is a difficult
decision, we recognize that active oversight and strict cost controls in the early years are
necessary to ensuring we can deliver these ships to the fleet over the long term."

What I find refreshing is that it's just unusual to see a DoD entity just terminate a contract on performance/cost issues. Believe me, I've watched, as a government employee and as a contractor, as the government just accepted poor performance and then rewarded it with new contracts. No, of course not the firm I work for, and I think I'll avoid the lawsuit by not naming the others, too!

Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows... �

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

What I find refreshing is that it's just unusual to see a DoD entity just terminate a contract on performance/cost issues.

What I find curious is that DoD entities are still doing business under cost-plus, since the biggest killer of new items has usually been the unholy overruns associated with them.

Take the late, sorta-kinda-unlamented Comanche, as a prime example. The original concept of a small, fast, agile, survivable, single-pilot killer scout that would (doctrinally) range the battlefield in flights of three to five morphed into a large (bigger than a Cobra), fast, agile, non-survivable, dual-pilot flying UHF radio.

All the bells, whistles and pie-in-the-sky avionics added after the contract was awarded killed Comanche, and we didn't even get any proof-of-concept stuff for our bucks. Twenty years after project initiation, no software was written because no hardware was ever developed -- all the funding was spent developing the fragile-but-"stealthy" airframe.

Putting a stealthy airframe on a helicopter is like putting a turbine engine in a jeep.

Nobody has figured out how to make a main rotor system both efficient *and* invisible to a pulse-Doppler or synthetic-aperture radar system, and the biggest threat to a helicopter is still the bad guy on the ground who acquires it visually and has the firepower to knock it down: the French learned that in Algeria, we re-learned it in Vietnam, re-re-learned it again in Grenada, re-re-re-learned it again in Panama, re-re-re-re-learned it again in Gulf I, re-re-re-re-re-learned it again in Afghanistan and re-re-re-re-re-re-learned it again in Iraq.

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 12:05 PM

Much rather you post naval items that you find interesting then navel ones....

As for LCS CANX - good call by SECNAV. Very good call.

posted by CDR Salamander on April 13, 2007 11:18 PM

Curiously, just about a hundred years ago the USN told GE and Westinghouse to go pound sand when they wouldn't meet cost and performance standards for turbines for Texas and New York. The Navy built vertical inverted triple expansion reciprocating engines for those ships, in their own shops. The contractors came around and were much nicer and more reasonable on the next class of BBs. I'm glad to see the Navy looking out for our national interest again.

posted by Justthisguy on April 14, 2007 2:22 AM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by John on Apr 13, 2007 | Observations on things Military

Heh. Imus gets fired.

Imus got canned by CBS.

"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."

Ludacris gets meetings with Obama (last year, to be sure).

Okay.

It's all clear to me.

Reverend Al is all happy with Imus getting canned, but he's not apologizing to any of the Duke lacrosse players, is he?

"It's not about taking Imus down," Sharpton said. "It's about lifting decency up."

Since when you pompadoured buffoon? Where's your campaign to take down the gangsta rappers?

Heh. Just, heh. How do we take *any* of these people seriously?

I've got no brief *for* Imus, I'm just stunned at the hypocrisy of it all. Oh, no I'm not. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

Gimme some of what Jason Whitlock, local KC sports writer, is having.

Imus isn’t the real bad guy.
Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

Gimme summora dat!

Update: Players on the Rutgers basketball team are getting hate mail? Feh. While I have no worries about Castle visitors on that issue I'll offer the following guidance.

1. Don't send hate mail. It's gauche and pointless. If your life is that bereft and barren with Imus leaving the air, you need to be contemplating your navel and your life, not harassing other people.

2. If ya gotta send something, drop a note to that zombie Imus and his posse, the craven lickspittle Moonves, the Pompadoured Buffoon Sharpton and his sidekick Jesse (yes, I've suspended the Rulez for this post).

3. I still await the announcement of the War on Gangsta from the Reverend Al "It's about lifting decency up." Sharpton.

Another update: Rich Lowry, of National Review, on the "bonfire of the profanities":

The unedifying Imus controversy is almost entirely a liberal conflagration, a perfect bonfire of the profanities: with journalists and politicians caught out ignoring their own standards of political correctness; with left-wing grievance-meisters doing their grim work on the mainstream media’s favorite shock jock; with the culture of victimology running its ritualistic course. Armed only with the dubious loyalty of his frequent guests, Imus didn’t stand a chance.

The rest is worth a gander.

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

Yeah, I love it when Whitlock shows up on the Sports Reporters. Dude lays waste in an equal oppurtunity fashion. He doesn't care about race. He typically doesn't express 'race' loyalty. Dude's just a stone cold 'Murican whose lines of decency are crisp, clear, and have no extra points added or taken away for ethnicity. His complaints about Imus I could stand, like NOW's(since they're about the only consistent group in this whole nonsense).

Like I've said to a blog friend, which ended my commenting at his place, if you accept irreverence and uncouth behaviour, even celebrate it by watching it, you have to accept that which transcends your limits of decency to be fair and equal. Imus passed the lines of decent conversation, or even thought. So what? We celebrate others who do that. Like Stewart and the Daily Show. Carlos Mencia and most of the Comedy Central lineup. SOuth Park for sure. Will Farrel? You betcha. If you've ever watched and enjoyed any of the in-house fare at Cartoon Network you better not be complaining about Imus. If you liked the Jerky Boys(Tarbash is totally a stereotype, and a denigrating one) or Crank Yankers you helped bring this about by making 'naughty boy behavior' popular.

I'm with Whitlock. This is just a thing where some people get to pretend piousness. Which, apparently, some blog friends don't like me saying.

posted by ry on April 12, 2007 8:20 PM

I must restrain myself.

Being a former Native of Georgia and still considering myself a son of Georgia, I have no words of grace that are to be delved for Rev's Jackson and Sharpton.

That being said they did a wonderful job, As Whitlock pointed out, in 1965.

I haven't heard Sharpton apologize to that ol gal he got busted with up in DC way back in the day either.

But then under the current standard, she'd have to apologize to him.

posted by BloodSpite on April 12, 2007 9:34 PM

The women of the Rutgers basketball team said they were offended. That's all that matters. It is not my place to question that. It is not my place to ask them to justify it. It is not my place to compare it to anything else. If they are not offended by rap music, that is their call. If they are offended, but choose not to speak against it, that is their call.

When white people say "What about rap lyrics?" all I hear is my son Frank justifying some transgression with "But Tom did it too!" This episode is about what Imus said, not about what 50 Cent said.

If a woman of color is more offended by Imus than by The Game, I completely understand. My sister Grace and I were vicious to each other, yet heaven help someone who looked crooked at Grace. In Charlestown there was a pecking order, kids on the Hill, kids from the Bricks, kids from the Catholic schools, kids from the Publics. Yet I have literally climbed over people to have the back of someone from The Town simply because they were from the Town. I would defend Nancy Pelosi to a Frenchman!

So if Vivian Stringer wants to sing along with Snoop Dog or JayZ and get angry when some old white guy calls her girls nappy-headed h0s.......I get it and I back her 100%.

As far as Sharpton goes, he's a nitwit. So what? His hypocrisy doesn't excuse Imus and it doesn't diminish the insult felt by the Rutger's girls.

posted by Maggie on April 12, 2007 11:20 PM

Sure, ry. Now why not come up here to Cincinnati, and I'll drop you off in Lincoln Heights, or Woodlawn Hills? There you are perfectly welcome to call the local women nappy-headed hoes, or jigaboos, and see how far your enthusiasm for "cutting edge" irreverent humor gets you, before they stomp your butt into the ground.

The references I do recognize, I generally have no use for anyway. Stewart is a self-important jackass, and a little South Park goes a long way.

I'll admit Mencia is hard core, but I've never seen or heard him use that kind of bigoted, insulting language.

Whitlock was mostly on the money, until he started complaining about rap. I have no use for rap as it is generally produced today; I find the lyrics hateful, violent, and misogynistic. Whining that Imus didn't say anything that rappers haven't misses the point, as Maggie quite appropriately points out.

If you can't grasp that two wrongs don't make a right, or that a black calling another black man (and a friend) a "niggah" doesn't make it ok for some random white guy to call the same man the same thing... I just can't help you.

...or maybe I can. This just occured to me. Would you be upset if the New York Times put a full-page, hard-core explicit sex photo on page 1? What if the same shot were on a public billboard? Would you object?

On the other hand, if a woman went to an adult bookstore, and bought a magazine full of such photos, would you object to her doing so? After all, it's the same photo (or set of photos), no?

The main difference here is context; what may be appropriate when purchased for private use may not be appropriate on public airwaves.

Someone might buy something to listen to/see/experience in their own home, but that doesn't equate to a public figure using the same form of expression on public, freely available performances.

posted by Casey Tompkins on April 12, 2007 11:54 PM

I guess that when my grandpa taught me that wrong is wrong, no matter who did it, I took him too literally.

Maggie, Casey, thanks for explaining to me how all people are equal, however, some are more equal than others.

posted by Jon The Mechanic on April 13, 2007 6:58 AM

Heh. I'm not about Imus. I'm about Sharpton.

I'm not about the Rutgers ballplayers, either. I may have missed it - did they call for Imus to get fired?

Casey has a point about public airwaves, though there is an element of choice about that, too.

Perhaps I'm confused on Maggie and Casey's points a bit, though - it seems that you are basically saying it's okay to call for Imus's head, and get it, and be silent on Gangsta, even go purchase it (and that, too, is a product that goes out on public airwaves), and that the two things are separate from each other and don't constitute hypocrisy and worthy of being called on?

Again - I may be conflating things here.

Certainly you can complain about Imus and not complain about rap. And you can want to focus on what Imus said because that was aimed at the players personally, and not feel that rap is...

However: When we start talking the consequences of things, and taking away people's livelihoods (not that Imus is going to suffer here in that regard but that isn't relevant) and making big public spectacles, and working to change policy (As Sharpton is with CBS) - I don't get to point out that the problem is bigger than Imus - and that it's rooted in the sub-culture that produced the term Imus used? And that the issues *are* related?

Or is it just too early for me?

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 7:51 AM

Well, our illustrious Guv, Jon Corzine, is in the hospital. Car wreck on the Garden State Parkway while he was enroute to "moderate the meeting" between Imus and the Rutgers Team.

Two questions immediately came to mind:

1. Why offer the governor's mansion to host and "mediate" a non-event, and

2. Since seatbelt use is mandatory in NJ, why wasn't the Guv buckled up?

Libs...

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 8:12 AM

Remind me never to piss off J-Pod:

"...Al Sharpton, a rampantly infectious venereal disease that masquerades as a man..."

That left a mark...heh.

Instapilot

posted by Instapilot on April 13, 2007 8:17 AM

And as far as Sharpton goes, two words:

Tawana. Brawley.

The "Reverend" Al has yet to apologize to the six cops he castigated as rapist bigots, nor did he say, "Oooops -- my bad!" to then-Gov. Mario Cuomo for declaring him to be in cahoots with La Cosa Nostra and the KKK.

Libs...

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 8:23 AM

I don't know about where you live, but in Boston the commercial radio stations edit rap music. The graphic lyrics can only be heard online and on CDs, not on the public airwaves. I have 19 year old boys in this house so I am familiar with it. I listen to these stations and I own some of these CDs.

Jon - I have no idea what your point is. You also get to be the final arbiter of what offends you and I will not ask you to justify it.

John - The players did not call for Imus to be fired, they wanted to wait until after they met privately with him. I agree Imus' remarks are endemic of a sub-culture, but it's not rap music. Imus was not influenced by rap music. I think that those who are happy Imus was fired heard Bull Connor, not Ludicris. I have been astonished at all the references to rap music in this discourse. I heard an old white man who had no regard for the feelings of people who he considers "less". All his protests about he is not racist do not move me one bit. Does he have Tourette's? How did those really awful things just *pop* out of his mouth? Too bad he is on the wagon, otherwise he could have gone into rehab and told us a story about some priest in his youth.
Again, as far as Sharpton goes, I don't believe he had that much influence here. I don't think anyone feared some kind of boycott or consequence from him. I think those sponsors didn't want their products associated with him. Period. One of his sponsors was Lumber Liquidators. The owner told the local talk radio guy in Boston that he had a black girlfriend. I don't imagine The Rev. Al influenced that decision.

posted by Maggie on April 13, 2007 8:26 AM

Mags -- There wasn't a peep from any of Donzo's sponsors until *after* his comment became a media circus. Three days after the event.

Personally, I'm surprised Imus had an audience at all; he stopped being funny sometime in 1985...

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 8:38 AM

Your points are well taken, Maggie - but the fact remains Imus was canned right after the meeting with Sharpton.

Like I said, I've not been supporting Imus, I've been attacking the Pompadoured Buffoon.

I also think you are being a little blinkered if you think the message of the "edited" rap music is somehow diluted because of bleeps and voiceovers.

And I also think that Imus, whatever his motivation, picked up the term from the popular culture.

And I just object to the fact that it's okay for Ludacris to say and sell it, but Imus must get fired for it.

Because at bottom, the same failing is evident.

Disrespect, but a wildly disparate response to same. Because Ludacris and his fellow gangsta rappers have a *far* greater impact on society than does Imus.

But you just poof away Ludacris, and snarl about Imus.

I think that's a forest for the trees kind of thing - whatever the merit of removing a single diseased tree might be - failing to address the larger infestation simply means... the infection still spreads.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 8:43 AM

Bill - Agree completely on the Corzine comment, on both counts.

I also agree with everything written about Shaprton. However, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

What does it matter how the sponsors found out? I don't imagine that they listen to every episode of every show they sponsor.

I also agree that Imus isn't funny, but when he has on the guy who does the fake cardinal, I cry laughing. (Which goes back to my previous arguement. "the cardinal" character makes fun of Irish Catholics and I find him highly amusing. But I wouldn't suggest that some Sassenach or Boston Brahmin use a derogatory term about Irish Catholics in my presence.)

posted by Maggie on April 13, 2007 8:46 AM

Can we add 'Crown Heights' to the Tawana Brawley scandal? Rioting for four days over an allegation of non treatment and one death.

Interesting that you bring up Tawana Brawley...that case has some interesting parallels to the Duke lacrosse players case.

Nifong's career is on the line. Oh well. I guess when a shark chums the water...

posted by Cricket on April 13, 2007 9:13 AM

The unfortunate reality (well, there are several here ....) is that people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, et al thrive on creating and perpetuating racial tension. They've created an entire industry out of it, and they know that their continued influence, power, and livelihoods are dependent on it.

It's simply not in their interest for America to ever become the color-blind society that Martin Luther King dreamed about, and which many of us would like to see become reality.

posted by fdcol63 on April 13, 2007 9:24 AM

I can't cast rap out of the spectrum.

Essentially you have Sharpton who practices, and I'll go ahead and say it because I'm just that way, what is tantamount to reverse discrimination.

kdwill, my good friend and co-blogger pointed that Sharpton's antics, rap music, the whole gangsta methodology and Jackson's antics get shoved under the rug when it comes to "Somewhere we must draw the line in what is tolerable in mainstream media," Sharpton said Sunday. "We cannot keep going through offending us and then apologizing and then acting like it never happened. Somewhere we've got to stop this."

So...if thats the case...when does Sharpton become accountable for his actions?

Kdwill's response (and one he's debating blogging on as a African American whose mother picked tobacco in North Carolina) is "white guilt"

I'll let him explain it, but it makes a quasi sensicle sense....although it stinks. And it's something that probably won't change.

But I myself want to see equality...true equality...like in the Army...we're no colors we all are "green".

Instead of the current evident and blatant double standard.

posted by BloodSpite on April 13, 2007 9:26 AM

What does it matter how the sponsors found out?

Not "how" -- "when." Not a peep from them until the Bobbsey Twins started making boycott noises -- again, *days* after the circus came to town...

posted by BillT on April 13, 2007 12:19 PM

Imus getting fired of this is just CRAP. If he's going to get fired for saying "nappy-headed ho's"... why not fire singers like Ludacris for using the same language in songs? Why not arrest the Dixie Chicks for (among other reasons) murdering Earl? Let's arrest Gore for stealing the idea of inventing the internet. After all- they're just words, right?

I mean, Ludacris just sings about ho's, using crack, and driving drunk- he didn't really MEAN it did he?
The Chicks didn't really kill Earl, did they?
Gore didn't really invent the internet, did he?
I know Tupac's dead, but did anyone raise a stink about the use of the word "nigga" in his hit song, "Changes", which was all about getting the black community to change their lives around and STOP killing each other and selling drugs? No... no... can't do that- he's a BLACK man, using the word.

Yeah, "nappy headed ho's" wasn't the best choice of words, but if you listen to the whole conversation, he was playing off of his co-host who said something about them being "ho's"; Imus then added the "nappy headed" part.
It may have been offensive, but firing him over that is just ridiculous. If he had been a black man, it would be the joke of the day- not the "hang whitey for his racist comment of the day".

Double standards... I HATE them.

posted by AFSister on April 13, 2007 3:07 PM

Heh.

Do you people think I like this stuff? Father Guido Sarduchi, Mencia, and all that? Hell no. I hate it. I watch it when I'm at other people's places or get outvoted. It's all, what's the word I'm looking for? $hit. Sarduchi was at least moderately funny because you could tell he at least liked what he was mocking, but the rest? Give me a break.

Casey, dude, sure, I'll come up there, if you go to So Cal and say the stuff Mencia does at the corner of Bristol and 17th St in Santa Ana, CA. I absolutely dare you, wedo. I guess exposure to an ethnicity sensitizes you to what they find offensive. Really, go there, find out what the Latinos will do to you. Such comments are silly, man. They proove no point other than to show how piously sensitive you are.

That, that you're sufficiently pious, is not the point, besides being a non-sequitor. You blow way past the point, bro.

Some people can say or do evil things and we give them a pass because it's 'art' or whatever. Calling for it to end makes you a prude or a square. Remember the furor over Married with Children? Was the Michigan mother who complained about it right? On merits, yeah, she was right. The show had a caustic quality to it in how it skewered and celebrated stereotypes and conflicts. But it was funny, or so most of the country thought, so that was okay. (Which is why I've come to the point where I say everyone has to get thicker skin. say you hate it and move on.)

Imus on the other hand, or Jason Richards, well, people didn't find the joke funny. So that makes it evil. Chris Rock? Funny, but his stock and trade is race denigrating jokes similar to the Jason Richards comment, but since people laugh

Chocolate Jesus? Art. Burning the Flag? Political statement. 50 Cent? Art and social commentary? Imus? Racist. WTF? Star Wars Epsisode One? Racist. The movie 'How High' which mocks rap listening Asians, South Asians in general, midwestern Caucasions, and 'white's in general? Rip roaringly funny and nothing to get upset about unless you're a racist cracker(known from first hand experience). How does this make sense? It doesn't. So call a turd a turd and be consistent. You start going down the Oprah path, but i felt offended, and you've opened up the Pandora's Box that is indentity politics and grievance mongering as well as not setting real boundries for a society to live by. Nope, just a bunch of amorphic and hazy and contradictory guidlines, if you can call them that. People don't want a Manichean world, fine. Then the only rule I can then see is: prepare to be offended. I'm pissed over the hypocrasy of it.

I have nothing for Imus. I hate the guy as much as I hate Howard Stern and the laundry list of people mentioned above. It's the double standard and how we rationalize it all that pisses me off.

How can AFSis explain to her kids that calling thier female friends 'their sluts' is a bad thing when they do it but it's okay for their friends of another colour to do it? It makes no sense. Which is why I like BlSp's approach. We're all Mutt 'Muricans who all get pissed at different things and decide to let it go. Sure we yell about it, but we don't take it so seriuosly that we end someone's career or ruin their lives. Has anyone been following the aftermath of the Duke case over at Newsbusters? The logic employed by some here is exactly what leads to Rose McGowan saying, in effect, that she didn't care whether the three players were guilty but should stand and be punished for their 'group crime' anyway because someone once made her feel bad who was like those kids.

but hey, I'm gollum and nobody cares what I think anyway.;) Back to polishing the Portcullis de Argghhh! Someone ask Boq where the Brasso is, wouldya?

posted by ry on April 13, 2007 4:11 PM

1) I don't like Imus
2) I don't like Jesse
3) I don't like "al" Sharpton
4) I despise mob vigilantism, something those last two are good at, pretending to be judge and jury.
5) yes, I think this language thing is a bunch of BS since it has become pervasive in our society.
6) You will never catch me saying the "N" word or "nappy headed" because I think they are inappropriate, regardless to whom or about whom I am speaking. I have used the word "ho's" in humorous conversation with some girl friends. Which puts me in the position of these young women. I am quite certain that if somebody I didn't know used the word against me, I would understand it was not funny, but offensive since that person would know nothing about me. My private conversations with my friends are my own and are funny because the word is used as an ironic statement since none of us are. It's called "owning" a word. Like "chicken hawk".

Is that a double standard? Yes. But no more than a bunch of Marines calling themselves "jarheads" and being offended if somebody who is not a jarhead calling them that. Or, when a Navy guy jokingly sings "in the Navy" by the village people, but would take offense if some civilian he didn't know starts making fun of him using the same song.

We have come to the point where we may poke fun at ourselves with our own stereo types, but it still doesn't mean that the stereo type is appropriate or that you do not know what it means when somebody outside of your dialectic uses it against you.

That is where Imus failed. He IS an old whiteman. He IS not funny. He has NO in with the black community. Particularly with the young hip-hop crowd. He is OUTSIDE thus his words do mean soemthing else. he could not cross that lexicon, however much he wanted to be "hip" or pretend to be "in".

REgardless of what he said about what group, sooner or later, when you do that, you are going to come up against that group that you can never become a part of and you are going to say something that offends.

And there is certainly no way that Imus was going to become a hip, young black woman.

6) as far as rap music, the language and what you tell your children or how difficult it is to explain, there are many difficult things in this world that we have to explain. don't blame it on the music. it's just one more in a complicated world. Like explaining why our black friend has a white (step) son and a mixed race daughter. Or why people on TV shoot each other, but we don't advocate shooting each other on the street when we are mad or someone does something wrong. Or why there is a jack daniels commercial on TV, but they shouldn't drink. Or why 19 Muslim men from the middle east killed 3000 people but it is not okay to hate all arab or Muslim people.

That is part of growing up, deciphering the difficult things and making good decisions.

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 6:56 PM

Heh. I just wanted to bust Sharpton for being a hypocritical pompadoured buffoon.

posted by John of Argghhh! on April 13, 2007 8:15 PM

I agree. He is kind of like a clown. Or, like those over acting actors (eddy murphy) acting like a black baptist preacher on Sunday morning so you get the whole "funnY" thing about black baptist preachers.

except "al" is supposedly not an actor.

Still, kind of funny in that cringing sort of way once you get over the whole "al" Sadr similarities. then again, I don't find ol' "al" sadr very funny so I guess that shows you how I feel about old "al" sharpton.

posted by kat-missouri on April 13, 2007 8:36 PM

How can AFSis explain to her kids that calling thier female friends 'their sluts' is a bad thing when they do it but it's okay for their friends of another colour to do it? It makes no sense.

Nope. It doesn't. Which is why I make sure my kids realize that not all language is appropriate, not all songs are appropriate (although it is funny as hell to hear a 5 year old sing "I like big butts" and "Ride a horse, save a cowboy"), and that all people are to be treasured and treated as equals. It's this sort of socialization that has lead my oldest to have best friends who are "brown" (asian and african-american), and to accept handicapped children as equals who just happen to be physically different.

My kids may be caucasian, but I'm raising them "green", like the Soldiers in Bloodspite's Army experience. I just wish ADULTS could see the world "green", instead of as individual races against each other. There simply isn's such a thing as racial superiority, but for some reason, the thought exists.

posted by AFSister on April 13, 2007 9:33 PM

I should add that I also closely monitor the tv they watch, including cartoons. I absolutely HATE Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Rugrats, and others for the language and themes they present. Why let them watch cartoons which teach species superiority, parents are stupid, idiots are funny, and babies are stupid? I'd much rather let them watch cartoons like Jackie Chan Adventures, Pink Panther, and SuperFriends.

posted by AFSister on April 13, 2007 9:39 PM

He is OUTSIDE thus his words do mean soemthing else. he could not cross that lexicon, however much he wanted to be "hip" or pretend to be "in"."

ANd thus, why such a set-up ultimately fails if, and only if, one wants to be fair and consistent. You create and in group and an out group(racial policy), going just natural personality traits, in this manner. Someone who can be offensive and get away with it and one who cannot. Cemented it. Never can we all be 'Joint' or 'Purple' but always a disparate group at pissed at each other(ooop, I better not use those, I'm not of the proper group). Joy.

I also think, regardless of whether Imus has an 'in' with any group is immaterial. Many a comic has had no in with my social group in So Cal, those of us who group using 'like' outside of Standard ENglish rules and Val Sprechen, but mocked us none-the-less. What's her name who wrote 'Clueless' used it to poke fun of teens and Californians. She had no 'in' with my group or my age group. So what? Is it magically out of bounds because of that? Is social commentary and study of a group allowed only if you're of the group? Someone tell Martin van Crevald to quit writing his inciteful and outstanding books then, he's not allowed. ANd someone tell Gore Vidal to stop writing about Catholics 'cause he isn't one of us. Someone take my keyboard away because I'm not a soldier nor am I trained analyst(should I even be at Argghhh! then?).

This 'group' thing also fails because groups are not homogeneous monoliths. You can have an 'in' with a small sub-group of people within a group that isn't recognized by the larger(which means I can't say that chapelle doesn't have an in with the Caucasian community, nor can I say that Vidal doesn't have an in with Catholics). It doesn't work as a group is too diverse to allow for such, especially when you're talking about a national event or performace. It ultimately winds up with 'I can say it, however hurtful, but you can't.'
I can tolerate my Wife doing that. She tells me straight out that that's what she's doing. She doesn't try to rationalize it and pretty it up. She accepts that it's hypocritical. She just doesn't care so long as I do what she wants. (And believe me, we've been a lot happier since we figured that out and I stopped arguing about whether it was consistent with other comments or even rational. I simply jump when told. Every husbands first line of defense.)

'Reclemation of Words'(and symbols) is also a place where we find this double standard. The pink triangle has been reclaimed. It's not a symbol of shame or a mark of dysfunction as it was used by the Nazis, or in the US just after the 2nd World War. It's a gay pride symbol. The Pink Pages are San Franciscos gay friendly telephone book, once proudly emblazoned with a Pink Triangle. But the Confederate Flag and the moniker of Rebel? Hey, sorry to all my Southron friends, I hate farkin' hate the COnfederate Flag, but if one can reclaim something as distasteful and vile as the n-word and the pink triangle they ought to be able to reclaim and rehab the Confederate Flag and the designation of Rebel into something respectable. If the word 'fag', one of the worst epithets in American culture, can be reclaimed and made a positive why can't the CF? They're just not the cool kids so they aren't allowed. They just have to accept the negative group image of being Southern if they're going to accept Southern at all.

You may refuse a Manichean set-up, these words bad and always bad. YOu can't deny that then choosing to allow for group rage is then hypocritical if someone outside that group uses it since it is impossible to rule out that someone has an in with a community. Particularly with artists and entertainers. Whod've thought that Martha Stewart would become friends with what's his name at the MTV awards. But I garaun-damn-tee you that if Martha Stewart, despite having said in, said what Imus did she'd be just as vilified by the offended community. It simply does not work.

So we don't want a binary world, it'd be boring and prevent us from being hip, we then have to accept that we will be offended by others 'being cool'. PArticularly with those in the entertainment and social commentary fields. Really. Look, the Chocolate Jesus, when looked at simply as a sculpture, really is a fascinating piece of work. The detail this guy pulled off was amazing. But it's still offensive. So what. He's a social commentarian and an entertainer/artist. Whatever happened to the adage that art had to be somewhat subversive?

It's simply a double standard no matter how you dress it up. Lipstick on a pig doesn't make it a beauty queen(and no amount of Southron phrases will ever make me a Southron).

Now, I do agree as for daily interactions that Kat's arrangement is a good rule of thumb. If you don't know them well enough to know whether they'd be offended then don't do it. But basing whether social commentarians and entertainers can say or do something based on their 'in'-ness or 'out'-ness? That's just racism and classism justified with different words. Person of group A can do it but nobody in group B can, or they can if someone in group A has declared them to be a client. How very Roman, we're back to clientage. You can get away with it if you're under the protection of some 'family'. It simply isn't making sense nor is it in line with any form of judging someone by the content of their character or egalitarianism I've ever heard of.

And why isn't John getting popcorn? What, we ferrets aren't dancing enough to keep you entertained with this thread? Punk.;)

posted by ry on April 13, 2007 10:59 PM

Something else I came acrossed tonight.

Brentwood Middle School typified the institutional rot confronting Goodloe-Johnson. When she arrived, just 3 percent of the 440-student downtown school passed state tests, continuing a 10-year pattern. Police were routinely called. Turnover was so bad that second-year teachers were considered veteran.

And race relations were so tense that a white teacher there filed a federal discrimination suit in 2004, claiming black students regularly called her, among other things, "white cracker, white honkey, white whore," with no intervention from the principal. White students backed up her claim, saying they were also routinely pelted with epithets.
[snip]
Amid the controversy over academics, the lawsuit filed by the white teacher went to trial, ending with a $307,000 verdict against the district. A federal judge labeled the school a "hostile workplace."
Gee, so white hs girls getting called "white 'ho" and being offended by it doesn't result in an official response, nor national outrage. I wonder why?

I do not buy the 'they were offended so that means it was wrong' line of reasoning. That's letting your class be taken over and run by the kid who throws the biggest tantrum. That's the old and discarded prudish(resident prude speaking) legal test about pornography. The most prudish Churchmouse and bible thumper decided. There's good reason why SCOTUS moved away from that, many a court case, and opinion why that's the worst policy to adopt.

Call me overly rationalist if you want(what was the name of the governor in Baron Munchausen?), but it simply doesn't compute.

posted by ry on April 14, 2007 12:43 AM

The reason that didn't make the 'newz' is because the teacher took it to the authorities and then went up the chain and got compensation in the courts.

My parents taught us that if you are going to make a difference you have to have a change of heart...which is something a Good Man taught a long time ago.

You watch. Rev. Al and Jackson are reading blogs or have their people reading them and they will try to turn it around, but I think they have jumped the shark on this one...and will fade.
Of course, the heir apparent is Milak Shabazz
to take it to the next generation.

posted by Cricket on April 14, 2007 4:20 PM

� Dismissed, Soldier!

by John on Apr 13, 2007 | Media Morons
� Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator links with: CBS fires shock jock Don Imus

April 12, 2007

H&I* Fires, 12 APR 2007

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

*****************************

The Milblogger Conference is coming! Hopefully, if you intend to attend in person, you've already registered (if not - hit the link on the top right sidebar!). Or, if you're too lazy to move your mouse far, even to click the link at the top of this paragraph, then click here.

If you can't be there, but intend to be there virtually, in the chat room (moderated by Greyhawk, like last year), you need to help out a bit. This conference is more expensive than last year's was, and we frankly couldn't cover the chat room - sponsorship for that fell through. So, if you're saving all those dollars you would have spent to attend in person, how about donating $10-100 to help defray the cost of the chatroom and related services. We need $2K, and I know we've already got at *least* $200 in the kitty.

Andi (the Grand High Mistress of All Things Conference) sends:

Funds are low, we have to pay for a lot of items to make this conference work. I had to cut the chat room from the budget because there is no money. However, after talking to Mrs. G, she thought we could raise the funds to add the chat room, so I’ve opened a donation site. We need to raise $2,000 by April 19.
Mrs. G rightfully said that the chat room was vital to the virtual attendees last year, so let’s give it a go. It’s especially important to the troops overseas. I need your help. Can you please write something up on your sites and beg for donations? Link below is for the donation site.

~~So, here's that link - click here to donate!~~ Never mind - through the good offices of Techography, we found an alternate method. -the Armorer

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Interesting article in the German mag, Der Spiegel, on Bin Laden's "Eurofighters."

Radicalization with friends and family

These numbers indicate that the impact of Afghan training camps on radicalization has since been largely offset.

Bakker and Hidde Donker summarize the issue of radicalization as follows: Their group of jihadists differs "fundamentally from the global mujaheddin." This conclusion is also supported in other ways-- by the realization, for example, that the jihadists who became active in Europe "radicalized with little outside interference, ...often together with friends and family members."

What this boils down to is that these Euro-terrorists are recruiting themselves. The Internet plays an important role in this process. Many of the jihadists featured in the study obtained al-Qaida propaganda via the Internet, especially in the last few months leading up to their attacks.

This reinforces a fear security officials have long had: The radicalization phase is becoming shorter and shorter.

Another difference between the Dutch study and Sagemann's results is also disconcerting: 58 jihadists were noticed by the police before their planned attacks -- almost one-fourth of the sample and far more than in Sagemann's study. Small-time criminals are apparently finding their way into al-Qaida in Europe more often today than in the past.

A higher proportion of converts than in the Sagemann study (a total of 14, including 13 former Christians and one former Hindu) also confirms that there are more detours on the road to jihadism than there were in the past.

Read the rest here. -the Armorer

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About damn time. I was pushing this idea a decade ago - except I was proposing we license an unclas version of our SIMNET construct.

By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY NEW YORK — The U.S. Army is about to invade the online gaming community with an estimated $2 million sponsorship deal with the Global Gaming League website. Starting in June, the Army will sponsor a "national gaming" area as a way to tap into the site's 9.2 million players per month of everything from shooter games to pro baseball. It hopes to find candidates for recruitment among the 17- to 24-year-old males who are 80% of the gamers on the site — young men hard to reach with advertising.
"The consumer model for traditional media is changing," says Gary Bishop, who oversees Army marketing and advertising. "We're grappling with the challenge of how do we better use new media to tell the Army story. Online is probably the best way."

GGL is a gaming community site that blends game news and play. Founder Ted Owen describes it as "ESPN meets MySpace for gamers. Video gaming is a culture. The Army has been a very forward thinker. They get it."

Read the whole story here in USA Today. H/t, Jim C. -the Armorer

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From the National Journal we see that Defense Secretary Gates knows how to play the game.

Gates Plans To Use Air Force, Navy Funds To Cover Army Costs In Iraq, Afghanistan With the fate of the FY07 wartime supplemental still unknown, Defense Secretary Gates will soon ask lawmakers to approve the transfer of $1.6 billion from Air Force and Navy personnel accounts to cover the costs of Army operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a letter Wednesday to Senate Appropriations Chairman Byrd, Gates reiterated his concerns that failure to appropriate the war funds in the next several weeks will have "disruptive" effects on readiness, Army personnel and their families.

"The department shortly will be presenting to the Congress a $1.6 billion reprogramming request that proposes to shift $0.8 billion from both the Navy and Air Force military personnel accounts to the Army Operation and Maintenance accounts," he told Byrd.

If you want to read the rest of that, you'll need to subscribe to the National Journal.

As my buddy Mike notes:

Re: diversion of funds – Gates is a frickin’ genius – let congress stand up to those special interest groups – Boeing, MD, NG, etc.

Indeed. Let them. -the Armorer

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