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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I promised links on Kat’s Operation Prometheus. Here they are: one from like minded, or at least to me it seems so, Cannoneer4, and the other from Haft of the Spear’s Micheal. I could’ve sworn C4 was a commenter here some time back. If so, dude, come on back. We’ll kick this around here some too.
What’s my (Denizen ry’s) opinion on the whole thing? A shocker for many, I’m sure, but I really don’t have one on the matter.
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Herr Flea has a rather humorous post. Naughty language is involved, but still funny while finding the time to be a minor history lesson.
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Yet more reasons to hate homeowner associations: they hate clothes lines.. Don’t really care about the eco-friendly preachnik bent, but, dang, is it my property or isn’t it? The only one worse that I can think of is the San Jose law I heard debated when I was working in Heyward, CA that would have required people to hire a lawn service to keep property values uniformly high. You know, ‘cause tall grass or un-pruned trees at your neighbors house can cost you a $100k in equity or something.
--ry
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On the Soldier Health Front: Army conducts brain tests on soldiers. With TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) becoming more and more prevalent due to IEDs and EFPs, the military has decided to start testing all personnel for "brain function" prior to deployment to establish a "base line" for comparison. Eventually, they're hoping to ease diagnosis since mild TBI can be mistaken for things like PTSD or other medical issues that appear with similar indicators.
Heroes Less Known:
Soldier Thwarts Multiple Attacks
Do or Die
Senior Airman Nicole O'Hara
Ya' think? U.N. rights chief sees bigotry in Europe on Islam. Might have to do with every time they turn around some more little takfiri, mufsidoon wannabes are rounded up or attempt to commit "jihad" on the unsuspecting populace. Or, that little thing where vocal Muslims, far from denouncing terror, are agitating for Shariah? Burning parts of Paris? France is looking for the right kind of immigrant. That may be tough to find.
Speaking of Europe and Jihad, England continues it's sniveling capitulation to Saudi terror interests by slapping authors with libel suits. But, one American Author refuses to back down and is going to court to demand her freedom of speech be protected by rejecting the English Court's ruling.
Thomas Barnett agitates for Manifest Destiny. I think the Puerto Ricans already turned down our offer and I doubt Canada will be anymore receptive to the idea than they were way back at the beginning of the 19th century. At least, according to certain commentators on this blog.
Speaking of Barnett, Chang disses Kaplan on the Asian Century.
By the way, don't enjoy that decrease in gas price lately, too much. Oil futures for October went up to $81/bbl. That will put us roughly back up to $3/gallon. Enjoy the war for oil. ;)
Nobody is talking about it here. I suspect because we don't feel comfortable enough with the details. They are confusing. Except, here's some links to videos showing the car bomb that exploded right before the security detail opened fire. One of the vehicles shows a hole in the top large enough for an RPG or an EFP to have made it. The odds are that the ones that complained the most about it were the ones that perpetrated the originating attack. Can't kill them? Do the next big thing and cause an artificial stink to remove them from the battle field.
The press will now help the enemy along by claiming everything is about Blackwater. What's next? Price of tea in China?
-Kat (takin' over the castle and racing ry for the outhouse...er dungeon...er oblique)
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One more for the road: Interview with Ahmadinejad from 60 minutes. Seems like it was tough questions. However, while the Kos Kidz go crazy, Charles Johnson highlighted a section where Ahmadinejad says he has suggestions for President Bush on how he can help his party win the next election. He espouses every democrat talking point, but seems to leave out his favorites like paramilitary beatings of demonstrators, mass arrests, long term imprisonment, killing journalists, and hanging dissidents via crane in a public square. I haven't even watched it all and I'm getting the feeling I'm seeing Baghdad Bob has landed a new job complete with nose job and stupid grin. Can't wait to hear his UN speech.
What I'm saying, I am being very sincere here. I'm a Muslim. I cannot tell a lie.""But when I ask you a question as direct as 'Will you pledge not to test a nuclear weapon?' you act, you dance all around the question. You never say 'Yes.' You never say 'No,'" Pelley points out.
"Well, thank you for that. You are like a CIA investigator. And you are…," Ahmadinejad replied.
"I am just a reporter. I am a simple average American reporter," Pelley said.
"This is not Guantanamo Bay. This is not a Baghdad prison. Please, this is not a secret prison in Europe. This is not Abu Ghraib," Ahmadinejad said. "This is Iran. I'm the president of this country!"
Go on, laugh. You know you want to. Tehran Ted. I kept imagining him banging his shoe on the podium. Journalist had big brass ones. Could have ended up in Evin like some of the other ones. Obviously why he can't stand real democracy and freedom. He wouldn't last two seconds with an Iranian Helen Thomas in the front row. Probably shoot her as soon as she said, "Mr. President..."
-Kat
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Okay, swear, last one. I stated in the Iran-Syria analysis that, according to other analysis, Ahmadinejad was likely to engineer a confrontation. Well, that might be sooner than some think and right here on American soil. Apparently, above all protests otherwise, Mad Mahmoud is going to try to visit Ground Zero. He's going to force the issue, use US law enforcement and treaties to force them to provide security against what is going to be a pretty intense situation with protesters so he can say his piece. I feel a bad Mamoud arising.
-Kat
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[Pushes his way past all the fevered posting of this morning (whew! Night Owls!)]
Concrete Bob of DC Protest Warrior has a good post up about the Gathering of Eagles rally and counter-protest. Check it out.
And don't miss Dr.Raoul on the ANSWER-Code Pink connection. -the Armorer
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I feel the outhouse may be sharing a name on the placard. Don't know if its possible, but certainly legal. Might I suggest that all good New Yorkers with a car and some time to spare drive over to Manhatten and fubar the traffic between 9 AM and 10 AM? I know, your fellow Naw Yawkers who actually need to get to wawk might be a little unhappy, but a little sacrifice on behalf of the nation, the 9/11 victims and all victims of terrorism sponsored by the sawed off runt of Iran isn't too much to ask. Is it?
Protests. It's what's for breakfast.
-Kat
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I ruefully contrast this story about the public face of a tyrannical and murderous regime being given a pulpit from which to speak at an institution of higher learning, with this story about the Canadian Forces being denied access at another institution of higher learning, for a job-fair, of all things.
And down the rabbit-hole we all go... - Damian
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BTW - Adjutant Brab figured out what was wrong with the "Sign The Petition to Support General Petraeus" link in the right sidebar... though from the lack of complaints about it, I'm guessing most of ya didn't notice it. -the Armorer
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For those suffering AOL-itis, or whatever it is that ails Bill, here's a direct link:
http://victorycaucus.com/standbythemission
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Speaking of First Amendment rights, Flying Shepherd reviews the meaning of religious freedom in a deployed military unit - for those who defend our rights, there are always limitations. But the point here is that you have to defend everyone's religious freedom, not just those who worship as you do.
One of the issues that took up quite a bit of time lately was something that pops up in every Chaplain course and is typically part of any conversation I have with a civilian Christian about the Chaplaincy: The First Amendment. I phrase it that way, because that is the proper frame for what I had to do. I spent over 40 hours of work defending Wicca to my supervisors, and defending my supervisors to Wicca. ...
Read the rest here. - Barb
(cross-posted at Righty in a Lefty State)
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The UN returns to Iraq. Captain's Quarters offers analysis.
Somebody find some M&Ms to sedate Maggie in case she gets too excited; MGEN Rick Lynch rips into the media. - FbL
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While Ry did well to link to the Ghost of a Flea (you can't go wrong doing that, frankly) he'd have been more complete to link to the source of the Flea's delight - Turban Bomb. So I'm fixing that right now. -the Amorer
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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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