H&I* Fires 05, JUN 2007

June 5, 2007 | | Comments (13)

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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Mr. Brown isn’t even in office yet and I’m already starting not to like him. British forces to bail on Iraq in 12 months?
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News from Afghanistan. 24 less Taliban in the field.
--ry

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Outsourcing local journalism to India.

PASADENA, California (AP) -- The job posting was a head-scratcher: "We seek a newspaper journalist based in India to report on the city government and political scene of Pasadena, California, USA."

Heh. I outsourced blogging, and look what it got me. Two deadbeats who took other jobs because I couldn't keep an eye on 'em! Butts in seats, boyo, butts in seats!

Note to demogogues on both sides of the aisle - just because I don't like the immigration bill, doesn't mean I'm racist. It means I don't like the immigration bill. -the Armorer

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News from MNF-I:

Security efforts assist market re-openings, electricity supply

Iraqi Air Force flies high with safety course

Corps of Engineers building 12 new schools

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Jim B's comment should not hide in the darkness below. Jim lives in the District of the *other* Democrat member of the Kansas Congressional Delegation, Dennis Moore. What a difference being on the correct side of the county line makes...

Let Jim tell it:

Well. As some of you know I run a tiny backwater family blog. I have a son-in-law in the sandbox. I have a son in the pipeline for SF, he has passed SERE and on to MOS training.

I take offense to elected officials giving aid and comfort to the enemy by screwing around with troop funds.

I did a blog thingie on my representative Dennis Moore, with a couple of follow-ups. Since then I felt like I was being tracked by those who monitor google for Congressman Moore.

Now by the power of google I have attracted a comment from a Democratic blog.

Seems like they like to react to little tiny family bloggers who speak ill of their "chosen"
They seem to think this Congressman doesn't owe me a response to my letters.

Here is where they respond to me.

Life is good.

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Yet another newspaper editorial has called for the legalization and purchase of the Afghan opium crop, and yet another researcher has called that course of action into question with some cold, hard numbers.

Bruce Rolston at Flit already provided a reality-check when Anne Applebaum proposed going down this road back in January of this year.

In fairness, a Senlis Council report has spawned this latest round of enthusiasm for legalization of opium production. Unlike my opinion of many NGO's, I have a lot of time for the folks at Senlis, since they're actually on the ground in southern Afghanistan and since they sensibly oppose putting an arbitrary end-date on the military mission that they agree is doing much needed work there. But in this case, their argument rests upon an assessment of worldwide demand for opiates that is multiples of the numbers provided by the International Narcotics Control Board.

Me? I'm with the skeptics on this. Even if all projections about true worldwide medical demand are true, and even if the international community can agree on market reform, and even if the Afghan government can regulate the production as well as more developed nations like Turkey and India, there's still the problem of illegal demand. As long as the heroin junkies aren't going away, there will be an illicit market for the product, a market that can help fund the jihadis. And as long as standards of living are so low in Afghanistan, there will be a labour market for the sort of by-hand work required to grow and harvest poppy products.

Legalization is no panacea. I suspect that the boring, long-term, but realistic solution will rest upon our ability to help Afghan farmers find more profitable employment than growing a poppy crop. - Damian

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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.

Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.

*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*

The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.

I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone".

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13 Comments

By Maggie on June 5, 2007 7:59 AM
RE: The arguement that if you oppose the immigration bill you are a racist can't irritate me, I've gone through this crap before. When busing came to Boston and my section of it, Charlestown, it was the same story. If you opposed the busing - you were racist. After a while I could laugh about people questioning my presence in a Catholic school. The logic was that I must be hiding from the busing. Of course, that would have meant my parents were psychic. The busing came to Charlestown my sophomore year of high school and I had been in Catholic schools since 1st grade. It's the same with gay marriage. If you oppose that, you must be a homophobe.
 
By jim b on June 5, 2007 8:37 AM
Well. As some of you know I run a tiny backwater family blog. I have a son-in-law in the sandbox. I have a son in the pipeline for SF, he has passed SERE and on to MOS training. I take offense to elected officials giving aid and comfort to the enemy by screwing around with troop funds. I did a blog thingie on my representative Dennis Moore, with a couple of follow-ups. Since then I felt like I was being tracked by those who monitor google for Congressman Moore. Now by the power of google I have attracted a comment from a Democratic blog. Seems like they like to react to little tiny family bloggers who speak ill of their "chosen" They seem to think this Congressman doesn't owe me a response to my letters. Here is where they respond to me. Life is good.
 
By Heartless Libertarian on June 5, 2007 10:52 AM
You could just legalize heroin, too, you know. And then tax it, and use the taxes to fund rehab for folks who decide that, you know what, The Man was right, and drugs are bad.
 
By Damian on June 5, 2007 11:23 AM
You could just legalize heroin, too, you know. Regardless of the philosophical arguments for and against that idea, practically speaking, it won't fly with most Western governments. Which brings us back to square one.
 
By BloodSpite on June 5, 2007 12:37 PM
Heck why stop at Heroin? Just legalize all drugs, make the a governmental monopoly, with 50% of all profits going to the National Debt, and use all the Illegal immigrants we arrest as labor on Federal ran processing, growing and distribution warehouse facilities until they're deportation date while paying them minimum wage. Advantages: Takes the war on drugs to the Economic front. National Debt gets direct attention. Illegal aliens are selling it anyway, and probably help make the crap as well so essentially your hiring experts in the field. Aliens are not such a drain on tax dollars if being employed directly. Drugs become somewhat "safer" for the common users, versus Back Alley Joe's clorox treated garbage can variety. Population rate decrease as people crack rock themselves to death. Lawyer decrease as 50% of them crack rock themselves to death. More open jobs in America has 30% of the work force crack rock themselves to death. Less stupid people on the road as 15% of them crack rock themselves to death. And of course lets not forget, 65% less anti-war nut cases as they crack rock themselves to death. /sarcasm You know. I could get used to doing this Devils Advocate Thang :)
 
By Maggie on June 5, 2007 12:48 PM
Nevermind heroin.........can we legalize all my favorite activities?
 
By NevadaDailySteve on June 5, 2007 1:30 PM
BloodSpite, I could almost agree with you even without that /sarcasm tag. I see a lot of people who have gone through the wringer because they got tangled up with drugs. A neighbor's daughter got involved with meth and she looks like her grandmother. I used to see her around her parents house when she was a teenager. She was bright, young and pretty. I saw her last fall at a pretrial hearing and she looked older than I do. Just give them the pure stuff and let them OD quick without the years of degradation and harm to themselves and others. Interdiction doesn't seem to work. As long as the demand is as high as it is there is just no way to block the stuff coming in. Rehab doesn't seem to work, look at all the celebs who have gone through the routine time after time. /sigh
 
By BloodSpite on June 5, 2007 1:53 PM
Nevada Actually it's my time as an LEO that spurred my DAT (tm) and I agree. I'd rather see their lives ended quickly, rapidly, than the long term slow death as you aptly described it. Once they are hooked the clean up rate is less than 35%, at least locally. And almost 75% of the clean up's fall off the wagon at some point, and 60% of them end up back in jail. Again thats just local numbers, may be different nationally. Our mantra, while I worked with the Sheriff's Dept? A druggie is a druggie is a druggie. So I justify my callus, cold hardheartedness with the thought process that mostly wanna-be anti-war, hard core marxist hippie's will be washed out of the gene pool. And their dying breath will be the words "Whatever, man" Granted I probably shouldn't poke fun. But it's a choice, in my book. I chose to never touch the stuff. They chose to burn their lives out in to a endless pitiful existence for which I have no pity for. Might as well fix the National Debt if they're gonna do it. And hey! The best way to get the Columbian s attention? And hurt the Cartels? Become their competition.
 
By John of Argghhh! on June 5, 2007 2:02 PM
You gentlemen are... harsh.
 
By ry on June 5, 2007 2:51 PM
Sigh. Legalization won't help much either, not the way you guys are talking about it. Look at cigs. Why is blackmarket cigarettes big business? It's legal, regulated to high heaven, and has tons of 'sin tax' on it? Because there's money to be made elsewhere along the chain. And tobacco is big bulk product before it gets processed. YOu can't get rich diverting a couple of trucks of leaves. YOu think something super portable like cocaine or opium is going to be HARDER to do? THink like a black hat. Think like a trucker making $25k/year, who's offered an extra $700/month to divert a couple hundred pounds on each run(that they can cut with chalk or whatever and sell 100x cheaper than gov't product). Think like the guy who has grown up on the "The Man holds me back an I gots ta get mines" culture and ethics. There's too much incentive to go black market. Especially if you have a high price--- illegal knock off bags and clothes come to mind, sold openly in places like NYC and LA. The black market will continue if you have it expensive, and Lord help us if you have gov't selling at cost. THe gangs and cartels have too much invested in it, they aren't going to go quietly. You ain't gonna kill that off without going agro on them too, AND continuing to go after them hard---just like now. A little bit of economic determinism gone screwy, or not thought out to the end. Remember the cartels are partaking of tactics the global jihadist movement has shown to be good at taking on central gov't and winning---a big gov't production facility is a nice fat system disruption target. IEDs taking on cops doing enforcement of gov't monopoly could become real common this way(or the current way. It just plain sucks.). LEgalization is no panacea. It's not even good medicine. And let's not forget the human toll of the aggregate of junkies on society. Driving. Taking care of your kids in day care. The family implosions. Sympathy for the f'n junky or not the family members didn't sign up for that pain either. ain't fair to the little kids born into junky households either. Life isn't fair, but the system is supposed to protect the weakest and most vulnerable---which is why we have things like CPS that takes kids away from worthless and abusive parents(when it works right). There ain't no good answers. And that farkin' sucks @55.
 
By AFSister on June 5, 2007 3:01 PM
It "farking sucks @ 55"?? Oh Ry... it farking sucks to @ 39 too. *snerk*
 
By kat-missouri on June 6, 2007 6:30 PM
Then you'd have the families of the crack heads who off themselves suing the government for big bucks for contributing to their deaths. Or class action suits for those who feel that the government provided them with the means to harm themselves or cause long term physical damage. Besides, the FDA takes years to approve life saving drugs. Can you imagine the label on these drugs? Not to mention the stupid warning from the US Surgeon General: Warning! Taking these drugs while you are pregnant may cause birth defects and miscarriages [duh]. Driving while under the influence of drugs can cause death or injury [more duh]. Do not take these drugs with alcohol or other drugs [really? they are so much better that way]. Do not leave drugs where small children can reach them. Do not take drugs if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or other medical conditions. Consult your physician. These drugs may cause you to hallucinate, over eat, lose your wife/husband, neglect your children and have suicidal thoughts. These drugs may be harmful to your mental and physical health. If you notice signs of depression, hyper-activity or foaming at the mouth, stop taking these drugs immediately and call your physician. Ahhh, screw it! Just don't take the d_mn things.
 
By ry on June 6, 2007 11:45 PM
Ooooh. Good call, Kat. I hadn't thought of that. Nice one. And I ain't 55, Werekitty. Dang. I can't drive 55(bad Sammy Hagar reference) but I'm not 55. meanie.