H&I* Fires, 5 June 2008

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.

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).

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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A military jury acquitted a Marine intelligence officer Wednesday of charges that he tried to help cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis, including women and children.

Cheers erupted as the seven-officer panel cleared 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who was the first of three Marines to be tried in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi deaths linked to the war.

The judge, Maj. Brian E. Kasprzyk, admonished those in court, telling them: "There will be no more of that."

Perhaps not in your courtroom, Major - but there will be more of that now that Lieutenant Grayson gets his life, however folded, spindled, and mutilated by the legal process, back. The latter is an observation, not a complaint. The way Haditha ran, going to trial wasn't much of a choice, really. And given the behavior of some Members of Congress in regard the issue, to say nothing of the public crucifixion of the accused, the accused, *especially* if they were innocent, needed the trial to establish that fact, seeing as how Representative Murtha's rules of evidence are, shall we say, slightly less stringent. One needs aught but innuendo to engage in character assassination. Heh. Politics and punditry rely upon it. -the Armorer

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Yes, I know it's broken. Yes, we're working on it. Sigh. Who fiddled the template? -the Armorer

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This makes sense to me:

The U.S. Military Academy will now honor its daughters as well as its sons in two of its beloved songs.

Gender-neutral lyrics were incorporated into West Point's "Alma Mater" and "The Corps" — replacing lines like "The men of the Corps" with "The ranks of the Corps."

West Point officials made the change after attending funerals for female graduates killed in combat and listening to the line "Guide us, thy sons" being sung. The new lyrics read, "Guide us, thine own."

The songs were written about a century ago, long before the first female cadets joined the Long Gray Line in 1976.

-the Armorer

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Interesting times to be the commander of Multi-National Division-North, not to mention the Kurds.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey and Iran have been carrying out coordinated strikes against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, a top general said Thursday in the first military confirmation of Iranian-Turkish cooperation in the fight against separatists there.

Gen. Ilker Basbug, Turkey's land forces commander, said the two countries have been sharing intelligence and planned more coordinated attacks in the future against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and PEJAK, the group's Iranian wing.

"We are sharing intelligence with Iran, we are talking, we are coordinating," CNN-Turk television quoted Basbug as telling reporters on the sidelines of a security conference in Istanbul.

And it's something we're not hearing much about in the news or from CENTCOM. -the Armorer

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Hamas falls out of love with Senator Obama. Good. -the Armorer

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Dude! Where's my lighthouse? -the Armorer

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DC does "clear", hasn't got a clue how to "hold" and rebuilding is for losers apparently. I suppose you can't blame them for not wanting to actually have to do COIN on US shores. If it makes them feel better, they can call it the old fashion name: Broken Windows. h/t Instapundit

Also from the "great one", "war on photography". I have to disagree, having just recently passed by Ft Leavenworth, there was a very large sign that did, in fact, read "No Photography After This Point". Of course, if you approach from the west past the federal penitentiary, there's a very large, billboard type sign warning, "Do not pick up hitch hikers". Ya' think?
-Kat

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The "Telectroscope." Fun. H/t, Jim C. -the Armorer

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Note from Maj Z:

A great guy doing something great... read below, and please support by spreading the word.

Thanks,

Chuck

Chuck is forwarding a note:

He's a retired army capt. wounded in Afg. (lost his arm from the elbow down) He is driving across the country to meet the people that supported him while he was deployed(camping or sleeping in his truck when he has to). He's funding his trip w/donations through his blog. I offered to host him here in jersey but just missed him by a couple of hours(didn't hear about him till yesterday morning) so i'll be banging his account for him today. I'm hoping we'll get to catch up on his way back south. he is in Reading, Pennsyltuckey now working his way to Maine. Thanks for any additional exposure you can offer. He definitely deserve our support.

RJ Vail

And "He" would be Daniel McConnell - of Daniel's Big Trip. If you pass through Kansas, Daniel, you're welcome to crash at the Castle. -the Armorer

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