H&I Fires* 10 May 07

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...

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Dammit! I dunno - it could all be a plot - it's the *french* who are reporting it. They just want to keep it all for themselves!

Two days ago was the anniversary of VE-Day, 8 May, 1945. Today is the anniversary of the end of the Phony War, 10 May, 1940. A lot happened between those two dates.

-the Armorer
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From the RCCM today (Rovian Conspiracy Coordination Memo)

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson Says He Will Take Personal Responsiblity For Implementing Recommended Changes In Veterans Care. "VA Secretary Jim Nicholson told skeptical House members Wednesday he would work hard to improve veterans' care and said he would take personal responsibility for implementing a presidential task force's recommendations. ... Nicholson said he would accept blame if the recommendations don't make significant headway. 'I take personal responsibility in assuring Congress, veterans and service members that this report will be accompanied by definitive and measured actions,' Nicholson said. ... Nicholson responded that he is seeing a renewed zeal to solve problems, with top officials from the Pentagon and VA meeting earlier this week to discuss ways to break bureaucratic obstacles that have delayed reforms in the past." (Hope Yen, "Nicholson Vows To Improve Veterans Care," Miami Herald, 5/09/07)

Does this mean that the Secretary will set measureable goals with appropriate metrics and we can expect a prompt resignation over failure? One can only hope, though I despair of the President *ever* recognizing that one of his greatest strengths - personal loyalty - is also one of his greatest weaknesses. The President of the United States, no matter how much he or she may care, cannot afford to have friends who are also employees. *Everybody* is expendable, if they aren't getting the job done. Political loyalty is one thing, loyalty in the face of faulty performance in cabinet level positions is quite another. -the Armorer

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We have a rather lengthy update from our Angel contact in Iraq: LTC Turner. With pictures, edited for OPSEC to keep us square with the military, but still extremely interesting.

Events and updates for Soldiers' Angels in Kansas City

PGR Confirmed Missions for Sabula and Harrison. John notes it's open to the public. PGR and SA will be there.

And odd news of the day: Militant Mickey Mouse. Just goes to show how people take a nice innocuous mouse and turns him into part of the war machine. Actually, it's pretty sick. I think this is the reason why I despair of the Palestinians and figure they will be stateless forever.

Stay tuned for a video update on the flood from my area. Evacuation order is lifted but we're not out of the water yet.
-Kat

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Yo, BCR - you've got competition! -the Armorer

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Argghhh!!! They've found us out.

Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.

Really. At least in that Rasmussen survey population.

Things like this are exactly why I made note to Ms. Boyda, my Democrat Representative in Congress - you're known by the company you keep, and at some point, it ceases to matter who you really are, since you don't truly control the image, thanks to the press... and the Internet.

Update: Blogfather Jonah Goldberg of NRO has a reader with a different take on the poll.

I think people are reading too much (or maybe its not enough) into the "Bush knew" poll. Like many polls that ask things other than who will you vote for, the answers are a proxy for registering some other opinion. No way do over 60% of Democrats think Bush either knew about 9/11 or might have known. No way. The poll should be properly read as: How much do you hate President Bush? 35% would like to personally torture and kill him, 26% wish he would die but wouldn't do the killing themselves, and 39% don't hate his guts

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Once again, the economy must be tanking, because the active duty component of the services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for the month of April, so there are lots of uneducated people with no prospects opting for the services as their last hope before going on the dole. I just realized, it *isn't* the Left that has taken over academia - it's the Right! It must be, as a part of the Rovian conspiracy to continually keep public school kids functionally illiterate so that there is a pool from which to draw the Myrmidons from! [Hard working school teachers who are trying to do the right thing by your kids may ignore that bit of satire].

That said, the picture for the Reserve component, while not as rosy as that of the active force, was still not too bad in recruiting. Retention?

Reserve forces retention. For April, Army National Guard retention was 107 percent of the goal of 20,069, and Air National Guard retention was 102 percent of its goal of 936. The Army National Guard is currently at 100 percent of its end strength, while the Air National Guard is at 96 percent. Losses in all reserve components for March are well within acceptable limits. Indications are that trend will continue into April.

Of course, there are layers, and the loss of mid-career personnel from the active force is higher than we'd like - but I wonder how many of them find their way into the Guard and Reserve? I dunno, and haven't the time to look. Perhaps one of you guys knows? -the Armorer

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Pay attention, people. I don't need this kind of email from you! So, pay attention to the emails you're getting and while you're at it, update your antivirus software.

SUBJECT: Malicious Worm Activity

SUMMARY: US-CERT has received reports from multiple organizations that variants of the Storm Worm (AKA Peacomm) are propagating throughout the Internet.

The worm sends e-mails disguised as notifications for users to update their systems against a new worm. Attached to these e-mails are malicious password encrypted zip files along with instructions on how to unzip and install the program. The malicious e-mail contains a password protected zip file attachment with instructions to unzip and install the attachment.

It has been reported by SANS that the known subject line of the e-mails generated by the worm are:

“Worm Alert”
“Worm Detected”
“Virus Alert”
“ATTN!”
“Trojan Detected!”
“Worm Activity Detected!”
“Spyware Detected!”
“Dream of You”
“Virus Activity Detected!”

Users are reminded to review the NETCOM TECHCON Implementation Memorandum 2004-011A, E-mail Attachment Filtering. This TECHCON addresses methods available to Army service providers to significantly reduce the risk associated with e-mail borne virus attacks. Appendix A identifies the attachment types that will be stripped at the Tier 1 SMPT Proxy and optionally within the Tier 2 e-mail servers. All users should ensure that they are up-to-date with the latest anti-virus definitions and report any suspicious e-mails to their SA or IASO.

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A big Laurel and hearty handshake to reader Jon W., who coached me through fixing my formatting issues in both the main blog and the left sidebar. H/t to Cassandra for her assistance and (with some aperity) coaching on color, too! Though I'm still not fully in compliance with her guidance... 8^ ) -the Armorer

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