This is coolbert:
From a comment to the blog:
"Anonymous said...
This analysis has been entirely ripped from an outdated Wiki page which in turn was ripped from research carried out on survivalistboards.com. Either is a much better resource than this page and it is deplorable that this comes in at no. 1 under military crossbow google search"
Hey, all I do is present the material and let the chips fall as they may.
This is all referring to the previous blog entry of mine dealing with modern military uses of the the crossbow. An archaic weapon still finding application?
And it has been noted by another subscriber that my post including the picture of the MARCOS troop equipped with crossbow was out-of-date by several decades [?].
Perhaps it is better to consider that instance where I mention the last [?] real-world USAGE of crossbows in warfare. The collection of montagnard [Degar] crossbows as found at the War Museum, Pontiac, Illinois. Real-honest-to-GOD hand-made crossbows of different shapes and varieties, AS WOULD HAVE BEEN WIELDED BY VIETNAMESE MONTAGNARDS IN COMBAT DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND INDO-CHINESE WAR!!
I merely present the material for perusal by one and all. Expert and lay person alike. It does surprise - - that in the modern age - - the crossbow is still a "weapon" alive and well and finding application?
More comments on the topic are invited.
Can anyone suggest other instances of where the crossbow has found actual usage in modern combat other than by the Vietnamese montagnard?
coolbert.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Recoilless!
This is coolbert:
Looking over some web sites on weaponry of the Korean War:
Came across this:
"The 75mm reckless gave infantry much the same power as if a couple of men were carrying around a German 88. It could take out a T34 at 400 yards"
The M20 recoilless rifle, as wielded by U.S. infantry men in Korea, was equal in striking power to the German 88 mm anti-aircraft artillery [AAA] piece? The 88 mm, when used specifically in the anti-tank role, was one of the most significant and effective weapons of the Second World War [WW2] [?]! Only a few years after the end of WW2, the much smaller and AT THE TIME - - REVOLUTIONARY M20 obviated the need for anti-tank artillery?
For a two man buddy team to operate, the M20 was rather ponderous? NOT a backpack weapon! "Weight: 114.5 lbs" - - "Projectiles: High explosive anti tank (HEAT), 20.54 lbs.".
That HEAT round as fired by the M20 was effective in stopping a Soviet T-34 tank? Prior to that, the U.S. forces in Korea deployed weaponry that was INEFFECTIVE WHEN USED AGAINST THE T-34. Whether is was the standard issue bazooka of the time, the main gun of the Chafee tank, or a round fired from the 105 mm howitzer in a direct fire role, the T-34 proved surprisingly to be impervious to U.S. anti-tank weapons.
With the advent of the M20 - - in capable hands - - the T-34 no longer posed the terrible threat that it did at the start of the war?
Those two men operating the M20, also had to be very susceptible to counter-fire. YOU HAD TO MAKE A KILL SHOT WITH THE FIRST ROUND YOU FIRED OR YOU WERE "TOAST"?
coolbert.
Looking over some web sites on weaponry of the Korean War:
Came across this:
"The 75mm reckless gave infantry much the same power as if a couple of men were carrying around a German 88. It could take out a T34 at 400 yards"
The M20 recoilless rifle, as wielded by U.S. infantry men in Korea, was equal in striking power to the German 88 mm anti-aircraft artillery [AAA] piece? The 88 mm, when used specifically in the anti-tank role, was one of the most significant and effective weapons of the Second World War [WW2] [?]! Only a few years after the end of WW2, the much smaller and AT THE TIME - - REVOLUTIONARY M20 obviated the need for anti-tank artillery?
For a two man buddy team to operate, the M20 was rather ponderous? NOT a backpack weapon! "Weight: 114.5 lbs" - - "Projectiles: High explosive anti tank (HEAT), 20.54 lbs.".
That HEAT round as fired by the M20 was effective in stopping a Soviet T-34 tank? Prior to that, the U.S. forces in Korea deployed weaponry that was INEFFECTIVE WHEN USED AGAINST THE T-34. Whether is was the standard issue bazooka of the time, the main gun of the Chafee tank, or a round fired from the 105 mm howitzer in a direct fire role, the T-34 proved surprisingly to be impervious to U.S. anti-tank weapons.
With the advent of the M20 - - in capable hands - - the T-34 no longer posed the terrible threat that it did at the start of the war?
Those two men operating the M20, also had to be very susceptible to counter-fire. YOU HAD TO MAKE A KILL SHOT WITH THE FIRST ROUND YOU FIRED OR YOU WERE "TOAST"?
coolbert.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Growler.
This is coolbert:
This military move by the Russians will come as a surprise to some?
"Russia deploys anti-missile defence unit near North Korea"
"Kremlin sites system capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in far east to counter nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang tests"
"Russia has placed an anti-missile defence system close to its border with North Korea, in an apparent sign of growing alarm in Moscow at Pyongyang's nuclear programme."
"Russia's chief of army staff . . . told reporters . . . the military [Russia] had deployed its S-400 anti-missile division, a state-of-the-art anti-aircraft system capable of shooting down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles."
"The system, stationed in Russia's far east, would 'guarantee' fragments from an errant North Korean missile would not fall on Russian territory"
EVEN THE RUSSIAN IS SCARED OF COMRADE KIM AND HIS MISSILE TESTS. Is right now deploying the SA-21 "Growler" anti-aircraft surface-air-missile [SAM] system close to the Russian border with North Korea. To intercept and shoot-down and errant North Korea missile gone awry, off-course, threatening Russian territory and population.
The SA-21 does have anti-ballistic missile capability. Capable of intercepting and shooting-down a North Korean missile, and do so at will?
"the S-400 Triumf . . . is a new generation air defense system . . . an upgrade of the S-300 family."
"The S-400's NATO reporting name is SA-21 Growler . . . its range is claimed to be at least two times greater than that of the . . . Patriot system."
"According to Russian sources, the S-400 is capable of detecting and engaging targets out to a range of 400 km (250 miles), including aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles"
Russia does have a very small border area with North Korea, about fifty miles and no more. But does have populations living in the area who are aware of the tension and conflict existing on the Korean peninsula and are apprehensive that if war breaks out, it will spill over into their territory, endangering all!
And a missile off course, malfunctioning, debris falling out of the atmosphere, posing a threat to all? The North Koreans have not demonstrated a real good capacity for accurate and successful missile launches. The Russians have good reason to be worried?
coolbert.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Illegal?
This is coolbert:
"Flechette Shells: An illegal weapon"
Here from an Israeli web site, a discussion of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] use of flechette rounds.
Used during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. And used most recently during the incursion into Gaza.
Described in the headline as AN ILLEGAL WEAPON!
"The flechette shell is an anti-personnel weapon that is generally fired from a tank. The shell explodes in the air and releases thousands of metal darts 3.75 mm in length, which disperse in a conical arch three hundred meters long and about ninety meters wide.
Flechette most useful when:
"Flechette Shells: An illegal weapon"
Here from an Israeli web site, a discussion of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] use of flechette rounds.
Used during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. And used most recently during the incursion into Gaza.
Described in the headline as AN ILLEGAL WEAPON!
"The flechette shell is an anti-personnel weapon that is generally fired from a tank. The shell explodes in the air and releases thousands of metal darts 3.75 mm in length, which disperse in a conical arch three hundred meters long and about ninety meters wide.
Flechette most useful when:
"The primary military advantage of the flechette over other munitions is its ability to penetrate dense vegetation very rapidly and to strike a relatively large number of enemy soldiers."
Areas of dense vegetation harboring significant numbers of enemy military personnel not found in either Lebanon or Gaza.
This article concedes that the flechette round of itself is NOT an illegal weapon of war. What is the contention here is the manner with which the Israeli forces use the flechette round. Used in a built up area, lots of civilians present, and FEW enemy fighters. Usage most indiscriminate the problem rather.
Normally the USA military in Vietnam as far as I understand used flechette rounds only in the most desperate of circumstances
coolbert.
Areas of dense vegetation harboring significant numbers of enemy military personnel not found in either Lebanon or Gaza.
This article concedes that the flechette round of itself is NOT an illegal weapon of war. What is the contention here is the manner with which the Israeli forces use the flechette round. Used in a built up area, lots of civilians present, and FEW enemy fighters. Usage most indiscriminate the problem rather.
Normally the USA military in Vietnam as far as I understand used flechette rounds only in the most desperate of circumstances
coolbert.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Lebensborn.
This is coolbert:
"'To believe these children will become decent citizens is to believe rats in the cellar will become house pets.'"
"The chosen ones: The war children born to Nazi fathers in a sinister eugenics scheme speak out""They were the blue-eyed blonds born into a sinister SS scheme to further the Aryan race. But the defeat of the Nazis left Norway's 'Lebensborn' facing the vengeance of an entire nation. Here, five former war children talk for the first time about their ordeal – and their fight for compensation"
The subject of Lebensborn - - Norway, is a hot button item? Thanks to THE INDEPENDENT, a discussion of the issue.
Norwegian girls, without any coaxing, no compulsion, begetting themselves, fostering children with German soldiers, the conqueror and occupier. Norwegian girls, collaborating, consorting, eager to please the enemy.
Part of the SS plan to create a race of blond-blue-eyed-superman. Nordic perfection that was so lacking in so many of the Nazi elite.
The offspring of these romantic liaisons are reviled, considered to be outcasts, pariahs, unter-mensch - - for over sixty years now!!
NO mention is made of:
* Anni-Fryda Lyngstadt. [ABBA]
* Medical experimentation. [courtesy of the American CIA?]
See my previous blog entry on this topic.
"A man [woman] born from an illicit union may not join the assembly . . . No descendant of his [hers] may join the assembly . . . for ten generations."
- - Deuteronomy 23:2
Those persons born of lebensborn are to be pitied rather than hated? I think so!
coolbert.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Alfa Again.
This is coolbert:
In the case of the Soviet Alfa class submarine "good enough" was NOT good enough!
Thanks to the author Gerhardt Thamm and the American CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], here is an article that: "originally appeared in a classified Studies in Intelligence" and "was declassified with slight redactions in 2007."
"re·dact - - 2.To make ready for publication; edit or revise."
Declassified with ONLY slight redactions! Cool. NOW available on the Internet. As usual, the comment can be made that what was once only for the purview of the most elite and highest echelons of the government is now available for perusal by the average citizen, such as ourselves! [are we the devoted readers to this blog average?]
"Unravelling a Cold War Mystery
The ALFA SSN: Challenging Paradigms, Finding New Truths, 1969–79"
Read the whole CIA article and enjoy!
Comments:
* Alfa destroyed the existing paradigm regarding Soviet submarine engineering development. Alfa WAS not an incremental improvement, was a MAGNUM LEAP TYPE OF IMPROVEMENT!!
"par⋅a⋅digm - - 2. an example serving as a model; pattern"
The paradigm being that the Soviets could not possibly build a titanium hulled sub that could dive much deeper and run much faster than even the fastest American torpedo!
1. Titanium hull allowing for extreme depth!
2. Liquid-metal cooled nuclear reactor!
3. High degree of automation with skeletal crew!
* "Our [U.S.] submarines not only looked better, they were better."
If it looks good, it probably is good. This is TRUE! I one time asked a mechanical engineer about this and he said: "it is so!!" And intuitive almost instinctual appreciation of what will work and what will work well can be had, and almost at a single glance? If it looks boss it probably IS BOSS!!
* The analysts noticed something they had never seen be-fore, a 'highly reflective' pressure hull section near the ALFA assembly area."
Steel is not "highly-reflective", BUT TITANIUM IS!!?? All this gleaned from space satellite photography?
* "For nine years, he [Lord, the CIA analyst] would be in the center of the battle over the 'titanium submarine.' During the early 1960s, little reliable, high-level scientific and technical information was available, and Lord had to rely heavily on photographic intelligence."
Right, the Soviets are very good at counter-intelligence and very good at concealing what they do not want the opposition to know about. Lord the CIA analyst had to INFER from photographic-intelligence from satellites the various unique features of the Alfa AND THEN CONVINCE THE "EXPERTS" THAT WHAT HE WAS SEEING WAS NOT HIS IMAGINATION. And do so for a period of nine years!!
* Furthermore, even when it was conceded that the Soviets now possessed a vessel of formidable capabilities, an understanding of the doctrine, the tactics, the operational art for which the Alfa was intended was sorely if not totally lacking? The CIA needed to get an agent either in the construction shed for the Alfa or hire a staff officer from the Soviet Navy who was conversant with the Alfa development. From the standpoint of the CIA - - an impossibility??!!
I have even read that near the White Sea manufacturing facility where Soviet/Russian submarines are built, enormous pylons have been place in shallow water with camouflage netting stretched between them. Allows for a Russian sub to be built, take to the water, submerge, and never have to surface and be surveilled by American satellites. I wonder if that stuff can be seen by Google Earth?
coolbert.
"Better is the enemy of good enough." - - Russian proverb.
In the case of the Soviet Alfa class submarine "good enough" was NOT good enough!
Thanks to the author Gerhardt Thamm and the American CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], here is an article that: "originally appeared in a classified Studies in Intelligence" and "was declassified with slight redactions in 2007."
"re·dact - - 2.To make ready for publication; edit or revise."
Declassified with ONLY slight redactions! Cool. NOW available on the Internet. As usual, the comment can be made that what was once only for the purview of the most elite and highest echelons of the government is now available for perusal by the average citizen, such as ourselves! [are we the devoted readers to this blog average?]
"Unravelling a Cold War Mystery
The ALFA SSN: Challenging Paradigms, Finding New Truths, 1969–79"
Read the whole CIA article and enjoy!
Comments:
* Alfa destroyed the existing paradigm regarding Soviet submarine engineering development. Alfa WAS not an incremental improvement, was a MAGNUM LEAP TYPE OF IMPROVEMENT!!
"par⋅a⋅digm - - 2. an example serving as a model; pattern"
The paradigm being that the Soviets could not possibly build a titanium hulled sub that could dive much deeper and run much faster than even the fastest American torpedo!
1. Titanium hull allowing for extreme depth!
2. Liquid-metal cooled nuclear reactor!
3. High degree of automation with skeletal crew!
* "Our [U.S.] submarines not only looked better, they were better."
If it looks good, it probably is good. This is TRUE! I one time asked a mechanical engineer about this and he said: "it is so!!" And intuitive almost instinctual appreciation of what will work and what will work well can be had, and almost at a single glance? If it looks boss it probably IS BOSS!!
* The analysts noticed something they had never seen be-fore, a 'highly reflective' pressure hull section near the ALFA assembly area."
Steel is not "highly-reflective", BUT TITANIUM IS!!?? All this gleaned from space satellite photography?
* "For nine years, he [Lord, the CIA analyst] would be in the center of the battle over the 'titanium submarine.' During the early 1960s, little reliable, high-level scientific and technical information was available, and Lord had to rely heavily on photographic intelligence."
Right, the Soviets are very good at counter-intelligence and very good at concealing what they do not want the opposition to know about. Lord the CIA analyst had to INFER from photographic-intelligence from satellites the various unique features of the Alfa AND THEN CONVINCE THE "EXPERTS" THAT WHAT HE WAS SEEING WAS NOT HIS IMAGINATION. And do so for a period of nine years!!
* Furthermore, even when it was conceded that the Soviets now possessed a vessel of formidable capabilities, an understanding of the doctrine, the tactics, the operational art for which the Alfa was intended was sorely if not totally lacking? The CIA needed to get an agent either in the construction shed for the Alfa or hire a staff officer from the Soviet Navy who was conversant with the Alfa development. From the standpoint of the CIA - - an impossibility??!!
I have even read that near the White Sea manufacturing facility where Soviet/Russian submarines are built, enormous pylons have been place in shallow water with camouflage netting stretched between them. Allows for a Russian sub to be built, take to the water, submerge, and never have to surface and be surveilled by American satellites. I wonder if that stuff can be seen by Google Earth?
coolbert.
Akula.
This is coolbert:
The recent revelation that two Russian Akula class submarines have been patrolling the waters of the eastern seaboard [USA] has garnered some attention?
"Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S."
Seen as yet one more sign and indication that the "NEW" Cold War has commenced and is now in stride.
These are Akula II submarines? "Shark" [Akula] class? Hunter/killer attack vessels designed as anti-shipping/anti-submarine submersibles. Their primary task is to "hunt" and destroy American nuclear submarines, all the while in addition having a formidable capability to launch cruise missiles with impressive range against land-based targets!
Akula is the result of a development process that began with Alfa, continued with Sierra, and now comes to fruition with the present incarnation!
Those Alfa class subs when first deployed did cause quite a stir among U.S. naval experts. At the time, the Alfa seemed to be just have a capability, and surprisingly so, that American submersibles could not even compete with, much less match!
Capability to include:
* Titanium double hulls. Allowing for extreme diving depth [4,000 feet]!
* Extreme high-speed underwater, thanks to a liquid-metal cooled nuclear reactor of amazing power!
* High level of automation. ONLY sixteen crewmen required to man a sub, perhaps only one/sixth the normal complement needed.
At the time, as I have said, the Alfa class sub scared the "willies" out of U.S. Navy planners. IT WAS THOUGHT THE ALFA POSED SUCH A THREAT THAT IT WAS EVEN ABLE TO OUT-RUN THE FASTEST AMERICAN TORPEDO. THE ALFA - - ON PAPER - - WAS THOUGHT TO BE FORMIDABLE BEYOND QUESTION!!
Much later, it was found the threat - - on paper - - as posed by the Alfa - - failed to materialize. That power plant had a severe drawback - - even when docked - - the reactor had to be kept up and going at all times, serviced by a tender! AND the Alfa was never intended as a deep-water, long-range, pelagic, ocean-going vessel. Intended to guard those Russian Arctic bastions, chock full of Soviet missile-firing subs. NEVER was seen by the Russian or ever intended as a threat to the American deep-water navy? AND also included many unique and experimental features of uncertain usefulness - - the Alfa serving as a "test-bed"!
Alfa morphed into Sierra [also the dual titanium hull], Sierra into Akula and voila', the Akula II currently patrolling off the U.S. eastern seaboard!
The current class of Akula has a steel double hull, NOT titanium, and uses a pressurized water nuclear reactor, NOT the liquid-metal reactor of Alfa fame. Still has formidable capability! AND looks BOSS! It looks GOOD, what we can see of it. Very strong hydrodynamic design, even revolutionary, and once again - - LOOKS BOSS!!
One Akula is headed for Cuba? The other has disappeared? Bound for who knows where? To observe Nanook 09? ONLY the Russians know for sure!
coolbert.
"First there was Alfa, then there was Sierra, now there is Akula!" - - Bert.
The recent revelation that two Russian Akula class submarines have been patrolling the waters of the eastern seaboard [USA] has garnered some attention?
"Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S."
Seen as yet one more sign and indication that the "NEW" Cold War has commenced and is now in stride.
These are Akula II submarines? "Shark" [Akula] class? Hunter/killer attack vessels designed as anti-shipping/anti-submarine submersibles. Their primary task is to "hunt" and destroy American nuclear submarines, all the while in addition having a formidable capability to launch cruise missiles with impressive range against land-based targets!
Akula is the result of a development process that began with Alfa, continued with Sierra, and now comes to fruition with the present incarnation!
Those Alfa class subs when first deployed did cause quite a stir among U.S. naval experts. At the time, the Alfa seemed to be just have a capability, and surprisingly so, that American submersibles could not even compete with, much less match!
Capability to include:
* Titanium double hulls. Allowing for extreme diving depth [4,000 feet]!
* Extreme high-speed underwater, thanks to a liquid-metal cooled nuclear reactor of amazing power!
* High level of automation. ONLY sixteen crewmen required to man a sub, perhaps only one/sixth the normal complement needed.
At the time, as I have said, the Alfa class sub scared the "willies" out of U.S. Navy planners. IT WAS THOUGHT THE ALFA POSED SUCH A THREAT THAT IT WAS EVEN ABLE TO OUT-RUN THE FASTEST AMERICAN TORPEDO. THE ALFA - - ON PAPER - - WAS THOUGHT TO BE FORMIDABLE BEYOND QUESTION!!
Much later, it was found the threat - - on paper - - as posed by the Alfa - - failed to materialize. That power plant had a severe drawback - - even when docked - - the reactor had to be kept up and going at all times, serviced by a tender! AND the Alfa was never intended as a deep-water, long-range, pelagic, ocean-going vessel. Intended to guard those Russian Arctic bastions, chock full of Soviet missile-firing subs. NEVER was seen by the Russian or ever intended as a threat to the American deep-water navy? AND also included many unique and experimental features of uncertain usefulness - - the Alfa serving as a "test-bed"!
Alfa morphed into Sierra [also the dual titanium hull], Sierra into Akula and voila', the Akula II currently patrolling off the U.S. eastern seaboard!
The current class of Akula has a steel double hull, NOT titanium, and uses a pressurized water nuclear reactor, NOT the liquid-metal reactor of Alfa fame. Still has formidable capability! AND looks BOSS! It looks GOOD, what we can see of it. Very strong hydrodynamic design, even revolutionary, and once again - - LOOKS BOSS!!
One Akula is headed for Cuba? The other has disappeared? Bound for who knows where? To observe Nanook 09? ONLY the Russians know for sure!
coolbert.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Assassin!
This is coolbert:
Good program on television last night about the assassination of President Lincoln and the hunt for the assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
Some interesting points were brought up during this program. To include:
* Union troops in the field, occupation forces in the southern states, were not told FOR DAYS later that the President had been assassinated. The fear was that units would spontaneously take out retribution on the southern populace. Revenge of an unseemly and unwanted nature DID NOT OCCUR, but the concern on the part of the authorities WAS there.
* About two hundred people WERE killed in the aftermath of the assassination. Incidents involving individuals who praised the killing of Lincoln, those not showing proper remorse, mobs attacking and summarily executing those felt to harbor Confederate sympathies, etc.
Compare that figure [200] with the half-dozen to dozen persons killed in the aftermath of 9/11. Individual over-zealous Americans taking out their anger on unfortunates thought to be Muslim. Including as I recall, a Sikh, wearing a turban, and hardly a Muslim.
* The arrest, trial, conviction, and execution of the Lincoln Assassination conspirators [and it was a conspiracy] was carried out by military tribunal - - "with all due speed", as they say!! During confinement, the conspirators were locked away in a naval ironclad, hooded with pads over their ears, shackled and chained, under circumstances of extreme privation, even for those accused of conspiracy, murder, rebellious insurrection.
"The eight suspects were tried by a military tribunal . . . the use of a military tribunal [was justified] on grounds that included the military nature of the conspiracy and the existence of martial law in the District of Columbia . . . [the] rules . . . required only a simple majority of the officer jury for a guilty verdict and a two-thirds majority for a death sentence."
The entire process of manhunt, arrest, trial, execution taking about three months total!!
[Hey ya'll! How much does this sound like Gitmo and those tribunals that have been suspended? Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures!!]
AND THAT THE PRESIDENT AT THAT EXACT MOMENT ACTED IN THE CAPACITY OF COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES WHILE THOSE FORCES WERE ACTUALLY IN THE FIELD ENGAGED IN COMBAT OPERATIONS!
coolbert.
Good program on television last night about the assassination of President Lincoln and the hunt for the assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
Some interesting points were brought up during this program. To include:
* Union troops in the field, occupation forces in the southern states, were not told FOR DAYS later that the President had been assassinated. The fear was that units would spontaneously take out retribution on the southern populace. Revenge of an unseemly and unwanted nature DID NOT OCCUR, but the concern on the part of the authorities WAS there.
* About two hundred people WERE killed in the aftermath of the assassination. Incidents involving individuals who praised the killing of Lincoln, those not showing proper remorse, mobs attacking and summarily executing those felt to harbor Confederate sympathies, etc.
Compare that figure [200] with the half-dozen to dozen persons killed in the aftermath of 9/11. Individual over-zealous Americans taking out their anger on unfortunates thought to be Muslim. Including as I recall, a Sikh, wearing a turban, and hardly a Muslim.
* The arrest, trial, conviction, and execution of the Lincoln Assassination conspirators [and it was a conspiracy] was carried out by military tribunal - - "with all due speed", as they say!! During confinement, the conspirators were locked away in a naval ironclad, hooded with pads over their ears, shackled and chained, under circumstances of extreme privation, even for those accused of conspiracy, murder, rebellious insurrection.
"The eight suspects were tried by a military tribunal . . . the use of a military tribunal [was justified] on grounds that included the military nature of the conspiracy and the existence of martial law in the District of Columbia . . . [the] rules . . . required only a simple majority of the officer jury for a guilty verdict and a two-thirds majority for a death sentence."
The entire process of manhunt, arrest, trial, execution taking about three months total!!
[Hey ya'll! How much does this sound like Gitmo and those tribunals that have been suspended? Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures!!]
AND THAT THE PRESIDENT AT THAT EXACT MOMENT ACTED IN THE CAPACITY OF COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES WHILE THOSE FORCES WERE ACTUALLY IN THE FIELD ENGAGED IN COMBAT OPERATIONS!
coolbert.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Williams.
This is coolbert:
This comment to the blog has been made:
"Don't forget Ted Williams"
A comment in response to my previous blog entry about famous celebrities that served as aviators during World War Two:
Ted Williams of course does belong in the same "league" as Tyrone Power, Bobby Locke, Edmund Hillary, Gene Autry, Jackie Coogan.
Famous persons, world-class celebrities, that when duty called, responded in an admirable manner. NOT shirking their duty, volunteering for hazardous duty, combat fliers! In the case of Ted, even more so.
Ted Williams. Perhaps the greatest hitter the game of baseball has ever seen. Hit for high average with power. An outstanding player.
Ted Williams in particular was a natural at everything he seemed to do? Just had amazing skills, and NOT ONLY on the baseball field. A man - - an absolute perfectionist at everything he did - - with great physical and mental skills - - extremely highly motivated - - accomplishing what the rest of use mostly just dream about.
Had an exemplary military career, as a Marine aviator of MARKED ability and acumen:
"he [Ted] joined the V-5 program to become a Naval aviator [World War Two]. Williams was first sent to the Navy's Preliminary Ground School at Amherst College for six months of academic instruction in various subjects including math and navigation, where he achieved a 3.85 grade point average."
“'I heard Ted literally tore the `sleeve target' to shreds with his angle dives. He'd shoot from wingovers, zooms, and barrel rolls, and after a few passes the sleeve was ribbons . . . I know he broke the all-time record for hits.' . . . broke all the records in reflexes, coordination, and visual-reaction time. . . . 'From what they said, his reflexes, coordination, and visual reaction made him a built-in part of the machine'" - - Johnny Pesky.
Ted serving NOT ONLY in WW2 but during the Korean conflict as well, again, as a combat pilot:
"at the age of 34 [1952], he was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He hadn't flown for some eight years but turned away all offers to sit out the war in comfort"
"After eight weeks of refresher flight training and qualification in the F9F Panther jet. . . he was assigned . . . [and] based at K-3 airfield in Pohang, Korea . . . [and] Williams eventually flew 39 combat missions"
Comments:
* Williams did have the most extraordinary reflexes AND VISUAL ACUITY. Attributes necessary to success as a baseball hitter also serve well when it comes to flying a combat aircraft!!
* Williams was also a highly motivated individual. Had himself as competition, if there was no one else. Could not stand losing or being in second place in any regard. Always wanted to be the best and pushed himself to be so. AND OBVIOUSLY TOO HAD A FORMIDABLE INTELLECT, NOT NECESSARILY SCHOOL LEARNING - - BUT POSSESSING INNATE "SMARTS"!!
* It is generally conceded to that Williams lost the BEST FIVE YEARS OF HIS BASEBALL CAREER TO MILITARY SERVICE!!
Ted Williams - - war hero and EXCEPTIONAL ALL-AROUND PERSON of renown!!
coolbert.
"He mastered intricate problems in fifteen minutes which took the average cadet an hour and half of the other cadets there were college grads." - - Fellow Red Sox player Johnny Pesky
This comment to the blog has been made:
"Don't forget Ted Williams"
A comment in response to my previous blog entry about famous celebrities that served as aviators during World War Two:
Ted Williams of course does belong in the same "league" as Tyrone Power, Bobby Locke, Edmund Hillary, Gene Autry, Jackie Coogan.
Famous persons, world-class celebrities, that when duty called, responded in an admirable manner. NOT shirking their duty, volunteering for hazardous duty, combat fliers! In the case of Ted, even more so.
Ted Williams. Perhaps the greatest hitter the game of baseball has ever seen. Hit for high average with power. An outstanding player.
Ted Williams in particular was a natural at everything he seemed to do? Just had amazing skills, and NOT ONLY on the baseball field. A man - - an absolute perfectionist at everything he did - - with great physical and mental skills - - extremely highly motivated - - accomplishing what the rest of use mostly just dream about.
Had an exemplary military career, as a Marine aviator of MARKED ability and acumen:
"he [Ted] joined the V-5 program to become a Naval aviator [World War Two]. Williams was first sent to the Navy's Preliminary Ground School at Amherst College for six months of academic instruction in various subjects including math and navigation, where he achieved a 3.85 grade point average."
“'I heard Ted literally tore the `sleeve target' to shreds with his angle dives. He'd shoot from wingovers, zooms, and barrel rolls, and after a few passes the sleeve was ribbons . . . I know he broke the all-time record for hits.' . . . broke all the records in reflexes, coordination, and visual-reaction time. . . . 'From what they said, his reflexes, coordination, and visual reaction made him a built-in part of the machine'" - - Johnny Pesky.
Ted serving NOT ONLY in WW2 but during the Korean conflict as well, again, as a combat pilot:
"at the age of 34 [1952], he was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He hadn't flown for some eight years but turned away all offers to sit out the war in comfort"
"After eight weeks of refresher flight training and qualification in the F9F Panther jet. . . he was assigned . . . [and] based at K-3 airfield in Pohang, Korea . . . [and] Williams eventually flew 39 combat missions"
Comments:
* Williams did have the most extraordinary reflexes AND VISUAL ACUITY. Attributes necessary to success as a baseball hitter also serve well when it comes to flying a combat aircraft!!
* Williams was also a highly motivated individual. Had himself as competition, if there was no one else. Could not stand losing or being in second place in any regard. Always wanted to be the best and pushed himself to be so. AND OBVIOUSLY TOO HAD A FORMIDABLE INTELLECT, NOT NECESSARILY SCHOOL LEARNING - - BUT POSSESSING INNATE "SMARTS"!!
* It is generally conceded to that Williams lost the BEST FIVE YEARS OF HIS BASEBALL CAREER TO MILITARY SERVICE!!
Ted Williams - - war hero and EXCEPTIONAL ALL-AROUND PERSON of renown!!
coolbert.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Gangsters?
This is coolbert:
Speak of the devil! Almost literally so too!
Here from the Chicago Tribune today:
"Crime & courts"
"CHICAGOLAND"
"Pot fields on public land raided"
"Cook country Forest Preserve Police Officer Roberto Gonzalez inspects the growers' camp after Forest Preserve police and agents with the U.S. DEA on Wednesday destroyed an elaborate marijuana-growing operation . . . authorities burned about 6,000 marijuana plants . . . near 123rd Street and La Grange Road."
"both operations show the sophistication of Mexican drug cartels . . . Authorities made one arrest near a heavily wooded compound where growers camped."
THIS AREA I KNOW VERY WELL. JUST A FEW MILES FROM WHERE I LIVE AND WORK!! The Chicago area has large stands of densely wooded oak forests that are PRESERVES, NOT DEVELOPED AND UNTOUCHED BY MAN - - FOUND IN THE WILD STATE!! Areas I am familiar with, having hiked and camped in the preserves during my teen years.
At least untouched - - until recently!! NOT untouched by the fingers and hands of the Mexican drug cartels, their armed minions and footpads!!
The street value of those pot plants has to be immense! The plantings guarded assiduously and tended by the villains - - PERHAPS ARMED AND READY TO USE DEADLY FORCE FOR ANYONE MERELY EVEN STUMBLING UPON THE "FARM"!!
Law enforcement officials, raiding these encampments had better carry some heavy firepower with them, and be prepared for a fight with some bad hombres'!
See my previous blog entry: "Invasion USA VII- - Plantations"
coolbert.
"The enemy is not only at the gate, he is at the front door, has come inside, and wants to jump into bed with you" - - Bert.
Speak of the devil! Almost literally so too!
Here from the Chicago Tribune today:
"Crime & courts"
"CHICAGOLAND"
"Pot fields on public land raided"
"Cook country Forest Preserve Police Officer Roberto Gonzalez inspects the growers' camp after Forest Preserve police and agents with the U.S. DEA on Wednesday destroyed an elaborate marijuana-growing operation . . . authorities burned about 6,000 marijuana plants . . . near 123rd Street and La Grange Road."
"both operations show the sophistication of Mexican drug cartels . . . Authorities made one arrest near a heavily wooded compound where growers camped."
THIS AREA I KNOW VERY WELL. JUST A FEW MILES FROM WHERE I LIVE AND WORK!! The Chicago area has large stands of densely wooded oak forests that are PRESERVES, NOT DEVELOPED AND UNTOUCHED BY MAN - - FOUND IN THE WILD STATE!! Areas I am familiar with, having hiked and camped in the preserves during my teen years.
At least untouched - - until recently!! NOT untouched by the fingers and hands of the Mexican drug cartels, their armed minions and footpads!!
The street value of those pot plants has to be immense! The plantings guarded assiduously and tended by the villains - - PERHAPS ARMED AND READY TO USE DEADLY FORCE FOR ANYONE MERELY EVEN STUMBLING UPON THE "FARM"!!
Law enforcement officials, raiding these encampments had better carry some heavy firepower with them, and be prepared for a fight with some bad hombres'!
See my previous blog entry: "Invasion USA VII- - Plantations"
coolbert.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Anti-Missile.
This is coolbert:
A person commenting to a blog entry says:
"Anonymous said...
Dude, windbreaker and trophy are 2 different things. Trophy uses shrapnel to destroy the missile while Windbreaker uses another missile."
NOT ONLY two different things, but a concept at two levels of technical competence and sophistication.
I had thought that Windbreaker was the term the Israel used among THEMSELVES! Trophy was the name the system was called for export? This IS NOT SO!
As mentioned, Trophy uses a "beam" - - a "spew" of particles - - shrapnel so to speak - - fired in the direction of an incoming ATGM [anti-tank-guided-missile]. Windbreaker, a more sophisticated system to defeat an enemy ATGM, USES ANOTHER MISSILE RATHER THAN THE "SPEW"!
* Trophy causes a premature detonation of the ATGM HEAT warhead!
* Windbreaker destroys the ATGM!
Both systems utilize millimetre radars which provide a high degree of resolution necessary to provide satisfactory guidance?
Windbreaker is the proverbial bullet-hitting-a-bullet? The anti-missile! A capability once thought to be next-to-impossible but now a routine occurrence!
The Israeli does develop and field some amazing cutting-edge military hardware.
coolbert.
A person commenting to a blog entry says:
"Anonymous said...
Dude, windbreaker and trophy are 2 different things. Trophy uses shrapnel to destroy the missile while Windbreaker uses another missile."
NOT ONLY two different things, but a concept at two levels of technical competence and sophistication.
I had thought that Windbreaker was the term the Israel used among THEMSELVES! Trophy was the name the system was called for export? This IS NOT SO!
As mentioned, Trophy uses a "beam" - - a "spew" of particles - - shrapnel so to speak - - fired in the direction of an incoming ATGM [anti-tank-guided-missile]. Windbreaker, a more sophisticated system to defeat an enemy ATGM, USES ANOTHER MISSILE RATHER THAN THE "SPEW"!
* Trophy causes a premature detonation of the ATGM HEAT warhead!
* Windbreaker destroys the ATGM!
Both systems utilize millimetre radars which provide a high degree of resolution necessary to provide satisfactory guidance?
Windbreaker is the proverbial bullet-hitting-a-bullet? The anti-missile! A capability once thought to be next-to-impossible but now a routine occurrence!
The Israeli does develop and field some amazing cutting-edge military hardware.
coolbert.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Heroes!
This is coolbert:
Here are three men who stood tall during the Second World War [WW2]. All three men aviators, much in the same class as Gene Autry, Jackie Coogan, or Ed Mc Mahon. When their country called, these men responded.
One man a world class celebrity. A second, on the verge of stardom, and a third to whom great honor and fame was in the future, but not that far off!!
1. Tyrone Power.
"Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. . . . an American film and stage actor
who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often
in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads"
"In August 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He attended boot
camp . . . and then attended Officer's Candidate School at Marine
Corps Base Quantico, where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant"
". . . Because he had already logged 180 solo hours as a pilot
prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps, Tyrone Power was able to
go though a short, intense flight training program at Naval Air
Station Corpus Christi, Texas, where he earned his wings and was
promoted to First Lieutenant . . . He flew cargo and wounded
Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa"
". . . He was promoted to Captain in the reserves on May 8, 1951"
"Tyrone Power was buried at Hollywood Cemetery . . . in a military
service . . . Chaplain Thomas M. Gibson, U.S.N.R. officiating. The
active pallbearers were officers of the United States Marine
Corps."
2. Bobby Locke.
"Arthur D'Arcy 'Bobby' Locke . . . was one of the first internationally successful South African golfers."
Locke, prior to the start of WW2, was at the height of his game and poised to make the U.S. tour with great promise. A promise cut short in 1939.
"His golf career was interrupted by service in the South African Air Force during World War II."
"His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the South African Air Force"
"officially with the S.A.A.F. , encompassing his [Locke] entire record as a trainee/pupil pilot, instructor pilot within South Africa plus short foreign posting. His official records lodged with the South African Records Office in Pretoria, in fact . . . record 1162 hours [flying time] gross total" NOT however in a combat capacity!
That SAAF during WW2 seeing duty on a variety of fronts and doing so with panache'. Recall that during the Warsaw Uprising [1944], of all the allied air forces attempting to drop supplies to the Polish Home Army, ONLY the South Africans were successful. South Africans are not in the habit of shirking their duty, and SUCCEEDING WHEN THEY DO PERFORM THEIR DUTY!!
"Five years in the South African Air Force changed him from a 120-pounder to a heavy-jowled 180 [lbs.]"
3. Edmund Hillary. [Sir Edmund]
With Tenzing Norgay, being the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. And in the aftermath of Everest, an "ambassador" for New Zealand of the first magnitude. It is safe to say that Hillary was New Zealand and New Zealand is Hillary?? And before Everest, a military aviator!
"Upon the outbreak of World War II Hillary applied to join the air force, but withdrew the application before it was considered because he was 'harassed by [his] religious conscience'."
"Following the introduction of conscription on the outbreak of war in the Pacific, in 1943 Hillary joined the RNZAF as a navigator and served on Catalina flying boats."
Three men who were men when it counted! Stood tall and proud.
coolbert.
"He was an excellent student, never forgot a procedure I showed him or anything I told him." - - Jerry Taylor, USMC flight instructor.
Here are three men who stood tall during the Second World War [WW2]. All three men aviators, much in the same class as Gene Autry, Jackie Coogan, or Ed Mc Mahon. When their country called, these men responded.
One man a world class celebrity. A second, on the verge of stardom, and a third to whom great honor and fame was in the future, but not that far off!!
1. Tyrone Power.
"Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. . . . an American film and stage actor
who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often
in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads"
"In August 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He attended boot
camp . . . and then attended Officer's Candidate School at Marine
Corps Base Quantico, where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant"
". . . Because he had already logged 180 solo hours as a pilot
prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps, Tyrone Power was able to
go though a short, intense flight training program at Naval Air
Station Corpus Christi, Texas, where he earned his wings and was
promoted to First Lieutenant . . . He flew cargo and wounded
Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa"
". . . He was promoted to Captain in the reserves on May 8, 1951"
"Tyrone Power was buried at Hollywood Cemetery . . . in a military
service . . . Chaplain Thomas M. Gibson, U.S.N.R. officiating. The
active pallbearers were officers of the United States Marine
Corps."
2. Bobby Locke.
"Arthur D'Arcy 'Bobby' Locke . . . was one of the first internationally successful South African golfers."
Locke, prior to the start of WW2, was at the height of his game and poised to make the U.S. tour with great promise. A promise cut short in 1939.
"His golf career was interrupted by service in the South African Air Force during World War II."
"His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the South African Air Force"
"officially with the S.A.A.F. , encompassing his [Locke] entire record as a trainee/pupil pilot, instructor pilot within South Africa plus short foreign posting. His official records lodged with the South African Records Office in Pretoria, in fact . . . record 1162 hours [flying time] gross total" NOT however in a combat capacity!
That SAAF during WW2 seeing duty on a variety of fronts and doing so with panache'. Recall that during the Warsaw Uprising [1944], of all the allied air forces attempting to drop supplies to the Polish Home Army, ONLY the South Africans were successful. South Africans are not in the habit of shirking their duty, and SUCCEEDING WHEN THEY DO PERFORM THEIR DUTY!!
"Five years in the South African Air Force changed him from a 120-pounder to a heavy-jowled 180 [lbs.]"
3. Edmund Hillary. [Sir Edmund]
With Tenzing Norgay, being the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. And in the aftermath of Everest, an "ambassador" for New Zealand of the first magnitude. It is safe to say that Hillary was New Zealand and New Zealand is Hillary?? And before Everest, a military aviator!
"Upon the outbreak of World War II Hillary applied to join the air force, but withdrew the application before it was considered because he was 'harassed by [his] religious conscience'."
"Following the introduction of conscription on the outbreak of war in the Pacific, in 1943 Hillary joined the RNZAF as a navigator and served on Catalina flying boats."
Three men who were men when it counted! Stood tall and proud.
coolbert.
This is WAR!
This is coolbert:
Here on the latest dope, an update on those fires burning right, some out of control - - in California.
"Mexican drug smugglers tied to California fire"
"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Wildfire investigators in California are looking for marijuana growers tied to a Mexican drug cartel whom they suspect ignited a blaze that has charred more than 87,000 acres of a national forest."
"Sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars said investigators found tens of thousands of marijuana plants growing in the area. No arrests have been made, he said."
"Authorities said firefighters were warned the growers were likely still in the area and trying to escape on foot."
"'The suspects are still at large,' Turner said. 'We've closed the area to the public ... so if anyone is likely to encounter them, it would be the firefighters, and of course those people have all been alerted and are on the watch.'"
Can you dig it! Tens of thousand of marijuana plants being grown by the Mexican drug cartels, ON U.S. SOIL - - ILLEGALLY OF COURSE - - IN A NATIONAL FOREST!
The fire being set by a "cook fire" - - accidentally - - prompting the miscreants, the villains, the "footpads" to escape, the escape NECESSITATING A HIKE OF DAYS TO REACH CIVILIZATION - - SO REMOTE ARE THESE "PLANTATIONS"!!
Those firefighters had better be on the aware and on the alert at all times. Consider the "growers" [probably illegal aliens] to be heavily armed and ready to kill at a moments notice!! Very bad hombres'!
This sort of stuff just pisses me off big time. Have Army Ranger units hunt those "growers" down with dogs and shoot them on sight? Forgive me, but I get frosted when I read about this kinda thing!!
Those devoted readers to the blog will want to peruse this prior entry and remind themselves of the role deliberately set fires play when used by the drug cartels to "mask" and conceal their activities:
"Invasion USA IV - - Fire"
coolbert.
Here on the latest dope, an update on those fires burning right, some out of control - - in California.
"Mexican drug smugglers tied to California fire"
"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Wildfire investigators in California are looking for marijuana growers tied to a Mexican drug cartel whom they suspect ignited a blaze that has charred more than 87,000 acres of a national forest."
"Sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars said investigators found tens of thousands of marijuana plants growing in the area. No arrests have been made, he said."
"Authorities said firefighters were warned the growers were likely still in the area and trying to escape on foot."
"'The suspects are still at large,' Turner said. 'We've closed the area to the public ... so if anyone is likely to encounter them, it would be the firefighters, and of course those people have all been alerted and are on the watch.'"
Can you dig it! Tens of thousand of marijuana plants being grown by the Mexican drug cartels, ON U.S. SOIL - - ILLEGALLY OF COURSE - - IN A NATIONAL FOREST!
The fire being set by a "cook fire" - - accidentally - - prompting the miscreants, the villains, the "footpads" to escape, the escape NECESSITATING A HIKE OF DAYS TO REACH CIVILIZATION - - SO REMOTE ARE THESE "PLANTATIONS"!!
Those firefighters had better be on the aware and on the alert at all times. Consider the "growers" [probably illegal aliens] to be heavily armed and ready to kill at a moments notice!! Very bad hombres'!
This sort of stuff just pisses me off big time. Have Army Ranger units hunt those "growers" down with dogs and shoot them on sight? Forgive me, but I get frosted when I read about this kinda thing!!
Those devoted readers to the blog will want to peruse this prior entry and remind themselves of the role deliberately set fires play when used by the drug cartels to "mask" and conceal their activities:
"Invasion USA IV - - Fire"
coolbert.
Monday, August 17, 2009
FSB II. [End]
This is coolbert:
Again, thanks to the DEBKAfile! You place this one in the OH Shit, OH Damn category?
Once more too we see the workings of the Russian FSB in Lebanon.
"Lebanese Army's shock: National Internet routed through… Haifa"
"A large Lebanese army force which raided the Lebanese Internet network center on Mt. Barukh . . . Aug. 8 was dismayed to discover the exchange center which carries all of Lebanon's Internet links using equipment made in Israel. An intelligence sweep found the servers were routed to an exchange center in Haifa."
"The soldiers impounded piles of equipment and rounded up several detainees at the mountain center and several Lebanese Internet companies."
"Russian agents may also have led the Lebanese army to their discovery of the Israeli data center on Mt. Barukh."
The entire Internet network of Lebanon has been found to:
1. Be using Israeli made equipment.
2. Had communications ROUTED THROUGH ISRAEL!
Those Lebanese military, Hezbollah, and governmental and PRIVATE entities using the Internet for communications have had their communication compromised and made an "open book" to the various intelligence agencies of Israel, this having been so from the start.
And this should not surprise anybody!! Internet communications is not a simple one-two-three thing! Two Hezbollah "fighters" communicating with one another via e-mail or Internet Messenger [IM] can fully well expect their communications to not be confined totally within the boundaries of Lebanon!
Main-frame routers, those electronic devices that allow ISP's to communicate on the Internet, use multiple and quite often convoluted transmission paths for packets [Internet traffic consists of preformatted blocks of data called packets] to reach the ultimate destination.
" The largest routers . . . [are] stand-alone systems that have far more in common with supercomputers than with your office server."
At one time, 80 % of ALL Internet traffic passed through a grand total of thirteen routers, main-frame variety, ALMOST ALL OF THOSE ROUTERS LOCATED IN THE U.S.
Two Taliban jihadi conversing with one another using Internet Messenger might very well have their transmissions and communications passing through a router located somewhere in the U.S. The entire "session" or a portion of discrete packets being made available for examination by U.S. authorities!
"Russian agents may also have led the Lebanese army to their discovery of the Israeli data center on Mt. Barukh."
It is conceivable that the Russian FSB Internet experts were able to determine that Israeli routers were carrying the bulk if not 100 % of all Lebanese Internet traffic. Indeed, this may very well be how those Israeli agents in Hezbollah were "ferreted out". Israeli agents passing message traffic to their case officers, and using the Internet to do so?
coolbert.
Again, thanks to the DEBKAfile! You place this one in the OH Shit, OH Damn category?
Once more too we see the workings of the Russian FSB in Lebanon.
"Lebanese Army's shock: National Internet routed through… Haifa"
"A large Lebanese army force which raided the Lebanese Internet network center on Mt. Barukh . . . Aug. 8 was dismayed to discover the exchange center which carries all of Lebanon's Internet links using equipment made in Israel. An intelligence sweep found the servers were routed to an exchange center in Haifa."
"The soldiers impounded piles of equipment and rounded up several detainees at the mountain center and several Lebanese Internet companies."
"Russian agents may also have led the Lebanese army to their discovery of the Israeli data center on Mt. Barukh."
The entire Internet network of Lebanon has been found to:
1. Be using Israeli made equipment.
2. Had communications ROUTED THROUGH ISRAEL!
Those Lebanese military, Hezbollah, and governmental and PRIVATE entities using the Internet for communications have had their communication compromised and made an "open book" to the various intelligence agencies of Israel, this having been so from the start.
And this should not surprise anybody!! Internet communications is not a simple one-two-three thing! Two Hezbollah "fighters" communicating with one another via e-mail or Internet Messenger [IM] can fully well expect their communications to not be confined totally within the boundaries of Lebanon!
Main-frame routers, those electronic devices that allow ISP's to communicate on the Internet, use multiple and quite often convoluted transmission paths for packets [Internet traffic consists of preformatted blocks of data called packets] to reach the ultimate destination.
" The largest routers . . . [are] stand-alone systems that have far more in common with supercomputers than with your office server."
At one time, 80 % of ALL Internet traffic passed through a grand total of thirteen routers, main-frame variety, ALMOST ALL OF THOSE ROUTERS LOCATED IN THE U.S.
Two Taliban jihadi conversing with one another using Internet Messenger might very well have their transmissions and communications passing through a router located somewhere in the U.S. The entire "session" or a portion of discrete packets being made available for examination by U.S. authorities!
"Russian agents may also have led the Lebanese army to their discovery of the Israeli data center on Mt. Barukh."
It is conceivable that the Russian FSB Internet experts were able to determine that Israeli routers were carrying the bulk if not 100 % of all Lebanese Internet traffic. Indeed, this may very well be how those Israeli agents in Hezbollah were "ferreted out". Israeli agents passing message traffic to their case officers, and using the Internet to do so?
coolbert.
FSB I.
This is coolbert:
Here from the DEBKAfile:
"Russian secret service helped Hizballah bust Israel's Lebanese spy rings"
"a special unit of the Russian Federal Security Service - FSB, commissioned by Hizballah's special security apparatus earlier this year, was responsible for the massive discovery of alleged Israel spy rings in Lebanon in recent months with the help of super-efficient detection systems.
"The Russians dated Israel's massive clandestine infiltration of Lebanon to shortly after its 2006 Lebanese conflict. The Lebanese Shiites sustained heavy casualties and . . . began conscripting thousands of young Shiites . . . without checking their backgrounds. In their haste, they also rounded up Syrian and Egyptian migrant laborers in Lebanon."
"Israel used the opportunity to recruit large numbers of agents in both these groups"
The Russian FSB, thought to be ONLY an internal [Russian] counter-intelligence organization, operating out-of-country, on behalf of the Hezbollah, and quite effectively too, so it seems!
The Israeli have found their agents have been compromised and detected, "liquidated" probably, and the Israeli intelligence apparatus itself put at peril by Russian intrusion!!
There is historical precedent for this sort of thing. Soviet/Russian counter-intelligence detecting and compromising Israeli spies! The Soviets/Russians in a very efficient and quick manner doing what the Arabs themselves could not do!
Consider the cases of the Israeli super-spies, Wolfgang Lotz and Eli Cohen.
Both men, Israeli spies operating out of Arab nations, [Lotz in Egypt and Cohen in Syria], were detected, tracked down, and arrested [1965], both within weeks of one another, all through the efforts of the Soviet military intelligence [GRU].
"the GRU brought in their very latest radio detection vans together with Russian crews to operate them. Within a few weeks, they tracked down both Lotz and Cohen - - an extraordinary achievement in counterintelligence terms."
Those "super-efficient detection systems were? Cannot be sure in this case. But, obviously, were "super-efficient" - - without question?
coolbert.
Here from the DEBKAfile:
"Russian secret service helped Hizballah bust Israel's Lebanese spy rings"
"a special unit of the Russian Federal Security Service - FSB, commissioned by Hizballah's special security apparatus earlier this year, was responsible for the massive discovery of alleged Israel spy rings in Lebanon in recent months with the help of super-efficient detection systems.
"The Russians dated Israel's massive clandestine infiltration of Lebanon to shortly after its 2006 Lebanese conflict. The Lebanese Shiites sustained heavy casualties and . . . began conscripting thousands of young Shiites . . . without checking their backgrounds. In their haste, they also rounded up Syrian and Egyptian migrant laborers in Lebanon."
"Israel used the opportunity to recruit large numbers of agents in both these groups"
The Russian FSB, thought to be ONLY an internal [Russian] counter-intelligence organization, operating out-of-country, on behalf of the Hezbollah, and quite effectively too, so it seems!
The Israeli have found their agents have been compromised and detected, "liquidated" probably, and the Israeli intelligence apparatus itself put at peril by Russian intrusion!!
There is historical precedent for this sort of thing. Soviet/Russian counter-intelligence detecting and compromising Israeli spies! The Soviets/Russians in a very efficient and quick manner doing what the Arabs themselves could not do!
Consider the cases of the Israeli super-spies, Wolfgang Lotz and Eli Cohen.
Both men, Israeli spies operating out of Arab nations, [Lotz in Egypt and Cohen in Syria], were detected, tracked down, and arrested [1965], both within weeks of one another, all through the efforts of the Soviet military intelligence [GRU].
"the GRU brought in their very latest radio detection vans together with Russian crews to operate them. Within a few weeks, they tracked down both Lotz and Cohen - - an extraordinary achievement in counterintelligence terms."
Those "super-efficient detection systems were? Cannot be sure in this case. But, obviously, were "super-efficient" - - without question?
coolbert.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Loose Lips V.
This is coolbert:
It has often been suggested that highly inflammatory, bombastic language emanating from various Arab media in the days prior to the outbreak of The Six Day War [1967] between the various Arab countries and Israel was a factor in the Israeli decision to attack preemptively!!
"bom⋅bas⋅tic - – adjective high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious"
"language more elaborate than is justified by or appropriate to the content being expressed. Bombastic suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed . . . language that is purposely inflated in an effort to impress"
Bombastic language on the part of various Arab leaders that suggested indeed that war was at hand, a war that would be fought mercilessly and prosecuted to the end - - that end being the obliteration of Israel!
Bombastic statements such as:
"The existence of Israel has continued too long. We welcome the Israeli aggression. We welcome the battle we have long awaited. The peak hour has come. The battle has come in which we shall destroy Israel." - - Nasser.
"God will surely help and urge us to restore the situation to what it was in 1948." - - Nasser.
"total war ... aimed at Israel's destruction." - - Nasser.
"Our objective is the freeing of Palestine and the liquidation of the Zionist existence." - - The Syrian chief of staff.
"Our goal is clear--to wipe Israel off the face of the map." The Iraqi president.
"if it will be our privilege to strike the first blow" - - PLO Chairman Ahmed Shukhairy.
"We shall destroy Israel and prepare boats to deport the survivors, if there are any." - - PLO [spokesman?].
Bombastic statements, coupled with the movement into the Sinai desert, opposite Israel, 100,000 Egyptian troops, the MAIN STRIKING ELEMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY!!
The Israeli were reasonably able to infer that the Egyptian and the Arab nations in general did mean war, and were ready to fight, and existential crisis for the Israeli being made manifest?
Consider too the comments of the British intelligence officer, Hughes-Wilson:
"Part of the problem for Western intelligence officers [Israeli?] when evaluating the nuances of Arab intelligence is the language difficulty. Arab rhetoric bears little relationship to the clearer more coolly-worded signals pumped out from Western chanceries. In Arabic, the most blood-curdling threats are often merely linguistic expressions of various degrees of disapproval. With hyperbole a constant, it can be difficult to know precisely when an Arab threat is genuine, unless the listener is steeped in the culture."
This comment of Hughes-Wilson is true? The hyperbole is only for domestic consumption - - and is that - - merely hyperbole - - the intended target audience the "Arab street" that so often is spoken of?
Bombastic statements in conjunction with the movement [Egyptian], large-scale, of your most potent striking force to within range of your sworn enemy, CREATE A SITUATION THAT REASONABLY ALLOWS THE LISTENER [ISRAELI] TO INFER THAT DANGER IS AT HAND!!
These bombastic statements DO NOT DO ANYONE ANY GOOD AT ALL!! The current Iranian regime in particular is at fault when it goads a crowd at Friday religious services to chant: "death to America" - - "death to Israel"!!
If any of the mullahs functioning within the Iranian power structure read this particular blog entry, my advice to you is - - STOP! Plain, pure, and simple. The perception being created is no good!!
coolbert.
"It isn't reality so much that counts as the perception of reality that counts!" - - J. Jackson.
It has often been suggested that highly inflammatory, bombastic language emanating from various Arab media in the days prior to the outbreak of The Six Day War [1967] between the various Arab countries and Israel was a factor in the Israeli decision to attack preemptively!!
"bom⋅bas⋅tic - – adjective high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious"
"language more elaborate than is justified by or appropriate to the content being expressed. Bombastic suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed . . . language that is purposely inflated in an effort to impress"
Bombastic language on the part of various Arab leaders that suggested indeed that war was at hand, a war that would be fought mercilessly and prosecuted to the end - - that end being the obliteration of Israel!
Bombastic statements such as:
"The existence of Israel has continued too long. We welcome the Israeli aggression. We welcome the battle we have long awaited. The peak hour has come. The battle has come in which we shall destroy Israel." - - Nasser.
"God will surely help and urge us to restore the situation to what it was in 1948." - - Nasser.
"total war ... aimed at Israel's destruction." - - Nasser.
"Our objective is the freeing of Palestine and the liquidation of the Zionist existence." - - The Syrian chief of staff.
"Our goal is clear--to wipe Israel off the face of the map." The Iraqi president.
"if it will be our privilege to strike the first blow" - - PLO Chairman Ahmed Shukhairy.
"We shall destroy Israel and prepare boats to deport the survivors, if there are any." - - PLO [spokesman?].
Bombastic statements, coupled with the movement into the Sinai desert, opposite Israel, 100,000 Egyptian troops, the MAIN STRIKING ELEMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY!!
The Israeli were reasonably able to infer that the Egyptian and the Arab nations in general did mean war, and were ready to fight, and existential crisis for the Israeli being made manifest?
Consider too the comments of the British intelligence officer, Hughes-Wilson:
"Part of the problem for Western intelligence officers [Israeli?] when evaluating the nuances of Arab intelligence is the language difficulty. Arab rhetoric bears little relationship to the clearer more coolly-worded signals pumped out from Western chanceries. In Arabic, the most blood-curdling threats are often merely linguistic expressions of various degrees of disapproval. With hyperbole a constant, it can be difficult to know precisely when an Arab threat is genuine, unless the listener is steeped in the culture."
This comment of Hughes-Wilson is true? The hyperbole is only for domestic consumption - - and is that - - merely hyperbole - - the intended target audience the "Arab street" that so often is spoken of?
Bombastic statements in conjunction with the movement [Egyptian], large-scale, of your most potent striking force to within range of your sworn enemy, CREATE A SITUATION THAT REASONABLY ALLOWS THE LISTENER [ISRAELI] TO INFER THAT DANGER IS AT HAND!!
These bombastic statements DO NOT DO ANYONE ANY GOOD AT ALL!! The current Iranian regime in particular is at fault when it goads a crowd at Friday religious services to chant: "death to America" - - "death to Israel"!!
If any of the mullahs functioning within the Iranian power structure read this particular blog entry, my advice to you is - - STOP! Plain, pure, and simple. The perception being created is no good!!
coolbert.
Fire!
This is coolbert:
Once again, the state of California is at war! With the enemy of fire! Timber and brush fires, multiple in number, striking all at once, the "aggressor" having an uncanny ability to attack where least expected, creating a very difficult and chaotic situation.
And once again, the analogy to war, armed combat between groups of humans can be made? Fighting these fires is as close to war as can be gotten without having an enemy shooting at you?
"Schwarzenegger urges Californians to heed evacuation orders"
"California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged residents to heed mandatory evacuation orders Saturday as 6,800 firefighters battled to control nearly a dozen blazes across the parched state."
Further from the Globe & Mail article, these extracts and my comments:
* "6,800 firefighters battled to control nearly a dozen blazes"
A brigade-size PLUS unit of "troops" [firefighters] with all their impedimenta, having to fight brush and timber fires over an extended area, almost a dozen "enemy attacks" having to be countered simultaneously! "Troops" equipped with a standard battle kit, organized into units, commanded from a distance by a headquarters, HAVING TO BE SUSTAINED FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD IN THE FIELD!!
* "These fires will be different than most of the fires because of the terrain,' . . . 'That's why you see a lot of helicopters and fixed winged aircraft being used.'”
Impedimenta to include an "air force". Aircraft consisting of fixed and rotary wing aircraft dropping a slurry fire retardant mix on the fires. The terrain being hilly to mountainous, inaccessible to vehicles and difficult for men-a-foot to operate in. "Mountain troops" [firefighters] are required here. Persons with special gear and trained to operate in rugged mountainous conditions.
* "But an offshore wind was expected to blow into the area later Saturday, bringing hotter temperatures, dropping the humidity and drying out the trees and brush."
Changing conditions that a commander must constantly be cognizant of and take into consideration at all times when making fire-fighting decisions! A commander not only aware of what is occurring NOW, but attempting to anticipate what "things" will be like in 24, 48, 72, 96 hours into the future. And using an "intelligence preparation of the battlefield" to do so. Overlays showing the terrain, the vegetation, populated areas, road network, etc. DATA FROM A WEATHER FORECAST BUREAU BEING AN ESSENTIAL AND INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS!! Where aircraft can fly and when being to a large degree dependent on the weather.
* "11 [fires] burning in the state."
* "threatening more than 1,000 homes and buildings"
Eleven fires burning simultaneously. Assets ARE NOT UNLIMITED! Political authority [Arnold], at the highest level, must consult with the commander on the ground and make decisions as to where assets are to be allocated with the idea to "get the biggest bang from the buck!" Where the firefighters can do the most good and how quickly!
* "blazes have forced evacuations and knocked out power"
An untenable condition has arisen that necessitates the evacuation of civilians from endangered areas. REFUGEES THAT MUST NOW BE CARED FOR AND GOTTEN SAFELY OUT OF THE FIRE AREA!! Even more assets, analogous to the military "civil affairs" units must be brought to readiness and into operational mode.
* "smoke and ash from the growing wildfire in Santa Barbara County whirled into the Los Angeles area, prompting an unusual weather forecast of 'scattered smoke.'”
Smoke is a weapon of war! Creates a "fog" that makes it difficult for those on the ground and IN THE AIR to make sound decisions, the process being complicated by incomplete data and intelligence!! Poor visibility makes air operations - - the dropping of the slurry mixture very difficult AND DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS!!
* "25 firefighters had been injured in various blazes"
Danger! Firefighting is like armed combat in that real danger exists. Injuries from operations in rugged terrain [a person tripping and breaking bones] is a possibility, the fire itself can turn in a heartbeat on the firefighter, burnt trees falling on unsuspecting and unwary "troops" too, etc.
* "A change in winds shifted the fire away from Bonny Doon but closer to Swanton"
Fire is a CHAOTIC ENEMY. "Fights" by rules that are not your rules, changing direction and behaving in an unanticipated way. Of the generally agreed upon criteria as to what constitutes LIFE, FIRE MEETS A GOODLY NUMBER OF THE CRITERIA! Fire can almost be seen as a living thing??!!
"Hey, no one ever said this was going to be easy"
coolbert.
Valentin.
This is coolbert:
Here with more on the Valentin facility.
Originally built as a protected assembly point for German WW2 era Type XXI submarines, still in existence and a going concern, decades later. Very sturdily and robustly built, as they say, now having a purpose never originally envisioned!
Here the comments from two informants that HAVE ACTUALLY VISITED VALENTIN:
1. "We toured that place in 2003, film studio now!"
A FILM STUDIO!! I would have to think that in this capacity Valentin is ideally suited? Those immense thick walls make acoustics very controlled? NO outside ambient noise a distraction or problem?
And as to the very robust construction of Valentin:
2. "anything with 6 or 7 meter thick walls made of steel reinforced concrete would be next to impossible to take down without explosives, which would blow out windows in homes for miles around."
As with the German flak towers from the same era, made so robustly that demolition is either very difficult or cost prohibitive.
coolbert.
Here with more on the Valentin facility.
Originally built as a protected assembly point for German WW2 era Type XXI submarines, still in existence and a going concern, decades later. Very sturdily and robustly built, as they say, now having a purpose never originally envisioned!
Here the comments from two informants that HAVE ACTUALLY VISITED VALENTIN:
1. "We toured that place in 2003, film studio now!"
A FILM STUDIO!! I would have to think that in this capacity Valentin is ideally suited? Those immense thick walls make acoustics very controlled? NO outside ambient noise a distraction or problem?
And as to the very robust construction of Valentin:
2. "anything with 6 or 7 meter thick walls made of steel reinforced concrete would be next to impossible to take down without explosives, which would blow out windows in homes for miles around."
As with the German flak towers from the same era, made so robustly that demolition is either very difficult or cost prohibitive.
coolbert.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Magic Bullet?
This is coolbert:
Here, from der Spiegel, a description of the "magic bullet" that is able to counter the effects and threat from radiological poisoning, as would be caused by the "dirty bomb".
"Drug Promises Fix for Radiation Poisoning"
"Dirty bombs are one of the biggest threats to the world's urban populations. Now an American molecular biologist has developed a drug that may protect against the effects of radioactivity. Military officials are thrilled"
Those persons exposed to radiological poisoning no longer are without hope! Persons having direct exposure to nuclear radiation from a "dirty bomb" or an atomic detonation, an nuclear power plant accident, or even radioactive fallout from a distant nuclear weapons test, NOW have a treatment, a cure, a prophylactic!
"Medicine has offered virtually no protection against nuclear radiation until now, except in the form of iodine tablets, which merely prevent radioactive iodine from accumulating in the thyroid gland"
Tests in mice and monkeys have been successful. NOW for tests on humans? That will be dicey. HOW to test? Expose persons to lethal or dangerous levels of radioactivity - - give the injection - - and observe the results. Experimentation of an illegal and prohibited kind?
Comments:
* This is NOT a vaccine! Must be given only after exposure to certain lethal or dangerous levels of radioactivity! Again, NOT a vaccine!
* "an American molecular biologist". NOT exactly so. A scientist - - an American now, but originally a Russian? Working for an American based company - - owned by an Israeli? Israel does have some of the top scientific minds in the world. And is # 3 on the list world-wide of venture capital start-up companies. Innovative minds doing innovative work.
coolbert.
"a simple injection is all it takes"
Here, from der Spiegel, a description of the "magic bullet" that is able to counter the effects and threat from radiological poisoning, as would be caused by the "dirty bomb".
"Drug Promises Fix for Radiation Poisoning"
"Dirty bombs are one of the biggest threats to the world's urban populations. Now an American molecular biologist has developed a drug that may protect against the effects of radioactivity. Military officials are thrilled"
Those persons exposed to radiological poisoning no longer are without hope! Persons having direct exposure to nuclear radiation from a "dirty bomb" or an atomic detonation, an nuclear power plant accident, or even radioactive fallout from a distant nuclear weapons test, NOW have a treatment, a cure, a prophylactic!
"Medicine has offered virtually no protection against nuclear radiation until now, except in the form of iodine tablets, which merely prevent radioactive iodine from accumulating in the thyroid gland"
Tests in mice and monkeys have been successful. NOW for tests on humans? That will be dicey. HOW to test? Expose persons to lethal or dangerous levels of radioactivity - - give the injection - - and observe the results. Experimentation of an illegal and prohibited kind?
Comments:
* This is NOT a vaccine! Must be given only after exposure to certain lethal or dangerous levels of radioactivity! Again, NOT a vaccine!
* "an American molecular biologist". NOT exactly so. A scientist - - an American now, but originally a Russian? Working for an American based company - - owned by an Israeli? Israel does have some of the top scientific minds in the world. And is # 3 on the list world-wide of venture capital start-up companies. Innovative minds doing innovative work.
coolbert.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Moxie?
This is coolbert:
From the prior blog entry - - the comments again of the British intelligence officer, Hughes-Wilson:
"Unpalatable as it may be to Western liberals, feminists or intellectuals, to send a female ambassador to an Arab country is always a calculated risk. In a culture where only men control power and evens, and 'strong' men are much praised, female plenipotentiaries are always at a disadvantage unless they themselves can demonstrate that they are unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully."
Within the Islamic cultural domain, and especially that domain dominated by Arabic culture - - among those women "unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully" the name of Gertrude Bell instantaneously comes to mind!
American females such as Condelezza Rice and Hillary Clinton have the same moxie, gumption and ability to function as well as Bell did? I fear not! Neither woman was/is an Arabic speaker and neither has lived for any period of time within the Islamic/Arabic cultural domain. April Glaspie too was seen by Saddam as a very "lightweight" and NOT to be taken seriously?
"mox⋅ie - –noun Slang. 1. vigor; verve; pep.
2. courage and aggressiveness; nerve.
3. skill; know-how"
That is the perception, right or wrong! And recall - - "is not so much reality that counts as it is the perception of reality that counts!!" - - J. Jackson.
coolbert.
From the prior blog entry - - the comments again of the British intelligence officer, Hughes-Wilson:
"Unpalatable as it may be to Western liberals, feminists or intellectuals, to send a female ambassador to an Arab country is always a calculated risk. In a culture where only men control power and evens, and 'strong' men are much praised, female plenipotentiaries are always at a disadvantage unless they themselves can demonstrate that they are unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully."
Within the Islamic cultural domain, and especially that domain dominated by Arabic culture - - among those women "unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully" the name of Gertrude Bell instantaneously comes to mind!
American females such as Condelezza Rice and Hillary Clinton have the same moxie, gumption and ability to function as well as Bell did? I fear not! Neither woman was/is an Arabic speaker and neither has lived for any period of time within the Islamic/Arabic cultural domain. April Glaspie too was seen by Saddam as a very "lightweight" and NOT to be taken seriously?
"mox⋅ie - –noun Slang. 1. vigor; verve; pep.
2. courage and aggressiveness; nerve.
3. skill; know-how"
That is the perception, right or wrong! And recall - - "is not so much reality that counts as it is the perception of reality that counts!!" - - J. Jackson.
coolbert.
Loose Lips IV - - Glaspie.
This is coolbert:
The topic remains the diplomatic gaffe, the misstatement by an official that inadvertently leads to war.
At the time [1990] and even now, it is has been suggested that the ill thought out but relatively unremarkable comments and remarks of the American Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie - - in routine conversation with Saddam Hussein - - were in part responsible for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait [1990]!
"April Catherine Glaspie . . . an American diplomat, best-known for her role in the events leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991."
An approval - - tacit - - reasonably inferred by Hussein - - a go-ahead from U.S. authorities - - due to the ill-considered and regrettable choice of words, "spur of the moment"?
An inference on the part of Hussein totally without merit - - in error, with terrible consequences that have not passed even with the passage of almost two decades!
Various transcripts and translations of the conversation between Glaspie and Hussein exist! Translation is important here? Glaspie is an Arabic linguist and scholar, the diplomatic dialog carried out in Arabic?
[Transcript # 1]: "We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait . . . that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America."
[Transcript # 2]: “But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait . . . The instruction we had during this period was that we should express no opinion on this issue and that the issue is not associated with America . . . We hope you can solve this problem using any suitable methods . . . All that we hope is that these issues are solved quickly."
Those Arab-Arab conflicts existing between Kuwait and Iraq at the time were to include:
1. Disputed border area called the "neutral zone". Internationally disputed territory between Saudi, Kuwait, and Iraq. A diamond-shaped plot of land in the desert contested by all three Arab [Arab-Arab] nations, thought to be rich in oil deposits. A legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the British post-World War One Mandate! A dispute NEVER properly resolved!
2. A $70 billion debt owed Kuwait by Iraq. A debt incurred from the 1980's. A debt that the Iraqi desired re-negotiated. A re-negotiation that was denied by the Kuwaiti.
Glaspie refers to solving the "problems using 'suitable methods' . . . 'solved quickly.'" - - resolution being achieved WITHOUT THE USE OF FORCE - - BY DIPLOMATIC MEANS - - NORMAL AND ORDINARY NEGOTIATIONS - - NOT MILITARY FORCE!!!
Saddam fully did realize that his invasion of Kuwait would incur the wrath of Washington - - the comments of Glaspie not warranting the response that occurred? Surely this was so? The inference allegedly made by Saddam was not and would not have been reasonable, under any circumstances?
And from the comments of the British intelligence officer Hughes-Wilson:
"Unpalatable as it may be to Western liberals, feminists or intellectuals, to send a female ambassador to an Arab country is always a calculated risk. In a culture where only men control power and evens, and "strong" men are much praised, female plenipotentiaries are always at a disadvantage unless they themselves can demonstrate that they are unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully."
You the westerner, when you send a woman ambassador to an Arab nation, are sending the wrong message! You are not taking the Arab seriously and are actually insulting him, whether you intend to or not, whether you realize it or not!!
The inferences made by Hussein, if indeed they were made, were incorrect to be sure, but nonetheless, were and are seen as being a catalyst that led to the First Gulf War, with all the subsequent events and consequences that have transpired since!
coolbert.
The topic remains the diplomatic gaffe, the misstatement by an official that inadvertently leads to war.
At the time [1990] and even now, it is has been suggested that the ill thought out but relatively unremarkable comments and remarks of the American Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie - - in routine conversation with Saddam Hussein - - were in part responsible for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait [1990]!
"April Catherine Glaspie . . . an American diplomat, best-known for her role in the events leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991."
An approval - - tacit - - reasonably inferred by Hussein - - a go-ahead from U.S. authorities - - due to the ill-considered and regrettable choice of words, "spur of the moment"?
An inference on the part of Hussein totally without merit - - in error, with terrible consequences that have not passed even with the passage of almost two decades!
Various transcripts and translations of the conversation between Glaspie and Hussein exist! Translation is important here? Glaspie is an Arabic linguist and scholar, the diplomatic dialog carried out in Arabic?
[Transcript # 1]: "We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait . . . that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America."
[Transcript # 2]: “But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait . . . The instruction we had during this period was that we should express no opinion on this issue and that the issue is not associated with America . . . We hope you can solve this problem using any suitable methods . . . All that we hope is that these issues are solved quickly."
Those Arab-Arab conflicts existing between Kuwait and Iraq at the time were to include:
1. Disputed border area called the "neutral zone". Internationally disputed territory between Saudi, Kuwait, and Iraq. A diamond-shaped plot of land in the desert contested by all three Arab [Arab-Arab] nations, thought to be rich in oil deposits. A legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the British post-World War One Mandate! A dispute NEVER properly resolved!
2. A $70 billion debt owed Kuwait by Iraq. A debt incurred from the 1980's. A debt that the Iraqi desired re-negotiated. A re-negotiation that was denied by the Kuwaiti.
Glaspie refers to solving the "problems using 'suitable methods' . . . 'solved quickly.'" - - resolution being achieved WITHOUT THE USE OF FORCE - - BY DIPLOMATIC MEANS - - NORMAL AND ORDINARY NEGOTIATIONS - - NOT MILITARY FORCE!!!
Saddam fully did realize that his invasion of Kuwait would incur the wrath of Washington - - the comments of Glaspie not warranting the response that occurred? Surely this was so? The inference allegedly made by Saddam was not and would not have been reasonable, under any circumstances?
And from the comments of the British intelligence officer Hughes-Wilson:
"Unpalatable as it may be to Western liberals, feminists or intellectuals, to send a female ambassador to an Arab country is always a calculated risk. In a culture where only men control power and evens, and "strong" men are much praised, female plenipotentiaries are always at a disadvantage unless they themselves can demonstrate that they are unusually powerful figures or are capable of wielding power forcefully."
You the westerner, when you send a woman ambassador to an Arab nation, are sending the wrong message! You are not taking the Arab seriously and are actually insulting him, whether you intend to or not, whether you realize it or not!!
The inferences made by Hussein, if indeed they were made, were incorrect to be sure, but nonetheless, were and are seen as being a catalyst that led to the First Gulf War, with all the subsequent events and consequences that have transpired since!
coolbert.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Loose Lips III.
This is coolbert:
Acheson!
Continuing with the subject of the diplomatic "mis-speak", the verbal gaffe or error, the misstatement of position, that when wrongly perceived by a potential belligerent - - results in war! Unintended consequences of the most calamitous kind!
In this particular instance, often thought to be the archetype of diplomatic "mis-speak", an inference having been made by communist authorities that lead directly to an outbreak of conflict on the Korean peninsula - - the Korean War - - 1950.
The American Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, enunciating [The speech of January 12, 1950, "Crisis in China-An Examination of United States Policy,"] during the Cold War the Asian defensive "line" of containment! Those areas of the Far East within the American sphere of influence that communist forces would not be allowed to interfere with! KOREA NOT MENTIONED AS BEING WITHIN THE AMERICAN DEFENSIVE LINE!!
"In early 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson implied – mistakenly – that the US would not defend South Korea from communist attack. A few months later, North Korea did invade. It took three years and nearly 40,000 lives to end combat."
"He said the US Pacific 'defense line' or 'defensive perimeter' 'runs along the Aleutians to Japan and then goes back to the Ryukyus.... We hold important positions in the Ryukyu Islands, and these we will continue to hold... The defensive perimeter runs from the Ryukyus to the Philippine Islands,'"
Various pundits have suggested that this omission on the part of Acheson - - a gaffe of the most major proportions - - indirectly led to the Korean War! Kim Il Sung, the dictator of North Korea, making the proper inferences, in response receiving permission from Stalin to commence hostilities at his discretion.
To be fair to Acheson:
* Acheson was merely articulating a "policy" as had been discussed with General MacArthur less than a half-year earlier!
* Acheson qualified [in the same speech] the "defensive line" as not being absolute, without a lot of elaboration!
"So far as the military security of other areas in the Pacific is concerned, it must be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack."
"Should such an attack occur . . . the initial reliance must be on the people attacked to resist it and then upon the commitments of the entire civilized world under the Charter of the United Nations"
* Nothing can be found in Soviet or Korean [??] suggesting that:
"evidence from Korean and Soviet archives demonstrates that Stalin and Kim's decisions [to commence hostilities] were not influenced by Acheson's speech."
[to be fair once again - - NOTHING can be found either in Soviet archives that indicate that the Stalin deliberately and maliciously provoked the Winter War with Finland in 1940! Weeding of archives has occurred with the case of Korea too?]
Also:
Those North Korean Peoples Army [NKPA] troops at the start of the Korean War had to have been among, if not the most combat ready, combat experienced troops in the world. Just found a web site that claimed the NKPA contingents had fought not only as Red Army units at Stalingrad, but also alongside the Red Chinese forces of Mao during the Chinese Civil War!! Combat ready, combat experienced, combat tough BAD HOMBRES! NO WONDER Task Force Smith got clobbered as bad as it did!!!
coolbert.
Acheson!
Continuing with the subject of the diplomatic "mis-speak", the verbal gaffe or error, the misstatement of position, that when wrongly perceived by a potential belligerent - - results in war! Unintended consequences of the most calamitous kind!
In this particular instance, often thought to be the archetype of diplomatic "mis-speak", an inference having been made by communist authorities that lead directly to an outbreak of conflict on the Korean peninsula - - the Korean War - - 1950.
The American Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, enunciating [The speech of January 12, 1950, "Crisis in China-An Examination of United States Policy,"] during the Cold War the Asian defensive "line" of containment! Those areas of the Far East within the American sphere of influence that communist forces would not be allowed to interfere with! KOREA NOT MENTIONED AS BEING WITHIN THE AMERICAN DEFENSIVE LINE!!
"In early 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson implied – mistakenly – that the US would not defend South Korea from communist attack. A few months later, North Korea did invade. It took three years and nearly 40,000 lives to end combat."
"He said the US Pacific 'defense line' or 'defensive perimeter' 'runs along the Aleutians to Japan and then goes back to the Ryukyus.... We hold important positions in the Ryukyu Islands, and these we will continue to hold... The defensive perimeter runs from the Ryukyus to the Philippine Islands,'"
Various pundits have suggested that this omission on the part of Acheson - - a gaffe of the most major proportions - - indirectly led to the Korean War! Kim Il Sung, the dictator of North Korea, making the proper inferences, in response receiving permission from Stalin to commence hostilities at his discretion.
To be fair to Acheson:
* Acheson was merely articulating a "policy" as had been discussed with General MacArthur less than a half-year earlier!
* Acheson qualified [in the same speech] the "defensive line" as not being absolute, without a lot of elaboration!
"So far as the military security of other areas in the Pacific is concerned, it must be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack."
"Should such an attack occur . . . the initial reliance must be on the people attacked to resist it and then upon the commitments of the entire civilized world under the Charter of the United Nations"
* Nothing can be found in Soviet or Korean [??] suggesting that:
"evidence from Korean and Soviet archives demonstrates that Stalin and Kim's decisions [to commence hostilities] were not influenced by Acheson's speech."
[to be fair once again - - NOTHING can be found either in Soviet archives that indicate that the Stalin deliberately and maliciously provoked the Winter War with Finland in 1940! Weeding of archives has occurred with the case of Korea too?]
Also:
Those North Korean Peoples Army [NKPA] troops at the start of the Korean War had to have been among, if not the most combat ready, combat experienced troops in the world. Just found a web site that claimed the NKPA contingents had fought not only as Red Army units at Stalingrad, but also alongside the Red Chinese forces of Mao during the Chinese Civil War!! Combat ready, combat experienced, combat tough BAD HOMBRES! NO WONDER Task Force Smith got clobbered as bad as it did!!!
coolbert.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bacteria.
This is coolbert:
From a Chicago Tribune obituary last week:
"Cold War germ-warfare scientist"
"HAGERSTOWN, Md. - - Wallace L. Pannier, a germ-warfare scientist whose top-secret projects included a mock attack on the New York subway with powered bacteria in 1966 . . . has died"
"Mr. Pannier worked at Ft. Detrick, an Army installation . . . that tested biological weapons . . . and is now a center for bio-defense research"
"The unit [that Mr. Pannier belong to, Special Operations] tested delivery systems for deadly agents"
"that team . . . staged their mock on attack on the New York subway in 1966 by shattering light bulbs packed with powdered bacteria on the tracks"
"'People could carry a brown bag with light bulbs in it and nobody would be suspicious,'"
"After a bulb broke, releasing the powder, 'the trains swishing by would get it airborne,'"
"The bacteria used as mock weapons were believed to be harmless but have since been classified as human pathogens."
Comments:
* The U.S. Army and the CIA both conducted such experimentation during the Cold War. Knowing how efficacious such at attack would be allows for offensive and defensive planning. NOT necessarily something sinister here!
* Releasing radioactive elements in a subway system would similarly be effective? That movement of the trains "swishing by" gets the material airborne for radioactive particles as well. The "dirty bomb" as envisioned being used by jihadi terrorists does not even need the "bomb"!
* Normal - - healthy people - - generally are NOT bothered by these bacteria. Young children, old folks, sickly individuals ARE at risk from these bacteria. AND, at the time, the various bacteria used WERE NOT thought to be dangerous. Perspectives change!
coolbert.
From a Chicago Tribune obituary last week:
"Cold War germ-warfare scientist"
"HAGERSTOWN, Md. - - Wallace L. Pannier, a germ-warfare scientist whose top-secret projects included a mock attack on the New York subway with powered bacteria in 1966 . . . has died"
"Mr. Pannier worked at Ft. Detrick, an Army installation . . . that tested biological weapons . . . and is now a center for bio-defense research"
"The unit [that Mr. Pannier belong to, Special Operations] tested delivery systems for deadly agents"
"that team . . . staged their mock on attack on the New York subway in 1966 by shattering light bulbs packed with powdered bacteria on the tracks"
"'People could carry a brown bag with light bulbs in it and nobody would be suspicious,'"
"After a bulb broke, releasing the powder, 'the trains swishing by would get it airborne,'"
"The bacteria used as mock weapons were believed to be harmless but have since been classified as human pathogens."
Comments:
* The U.S. Army and the CIA both conducted such experimentation during the Cold War. Knowing how efficacious such at attack would be allows for offensive and defensive planning. NOT necessarily something sinister here!
* Releasing radioactive elements in a subway system would similarly be effective? That movement of the trains "swishing by" gets the material airborne for radioactive particles as well. The "dirty bomb" as envisioned being used by jihadi terrorists does not even need the "bomb"!
* Normal - - healthy people - - generally are NOT bothered by these bacteria. Young children, old folks, sickly individuals ARE at risk from these bacteria. AND, at the time, the various bacteria used WERE NOT thought to be dangerous. Perspectives change!
coolbert.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
UAV Anyone?
This is coolbert:
Here from the op-ed page of the Chicago Tribune today:
"Here's a remarkable fact: This year, for the first time, the Air Force [USAF] will train more officers on remote-controlled aircraft than combat fighters . . . The service's weapons school recently graduated its first group of students who know more about munitions for unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV] than they do about fighter jet weapons."
For those young persons out there - - who desire to attend the Air Force Academy - - and someday - - fly top of the line fighter jet aircraft, please do not despair. The USAF is going to buy and field at least until the year 2050 2,000 of the F-35 fighter plane. Plenty of opportunities will exist for the fighter jocks well into the future!
But the trend is clear. UAV is the way to go? And not a future that is "pie in the sky", but right now, as we speak.
coolbert.
Here from the op-ed page of the Chicago Tribune today:
"Here's a remarkable fact: This year, for the first time, the Air Force [USAF] will train more officers on remote-controlled aircraft than combat fighters . . . The service's weapons school recently graduated its first group of students who know more about munitions for unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV] than they do about fighter jet weapons."
For those young persons out there - - who desire to attend the Air Force Academy - - and someday - - fly top of the line fighter jet aircraft, please do not despair. The USAF is going to buy and field at least until the year 2050 2,000 of the F-35 fighter plane. Plenty of opportunities will exist for the fighter jocks well into the future!
But the trend is clear. UAV is the way to go? And not a future that is "pie in the sky", but right now, as we speak.
coolbert.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Nanook!
This is coolbert:
Here, thanks to the tip from ISRIA.
"Canada starts Operation Nanook 09, a military exercise to confirm sovereignty over its arctic territory"
The Canadian military, flexing muscles in the far north, planning for the future, testing doctrine, tactics, concepts, etc. Right NOW, as we speak!
"The main objective is 'to ensure the monitoring of Canada’s territory and aerial and maritime approaches, including in the Arctic, in order to detect threats to safety and security'"
An integral part of Nanook will be the Canadian Rangers. Locals, experts at living in the harsh and unforgiving arctic environment! One important task of the Rangers will be to guard exercise participants - - particularly from attack by PREDATORS! That predator being the polar bear. The great white bear of the north, always ravenously hungry, looking for "lunch", and posing a grave danger to anyone in the vicinity. Nanook is the Eskimo [Inuit] name for the polar bear!!
"On the ground, the Arctic-survival-skilled Canadian Rangers will act as guides, experts on the land, and provide predator control."
Rangers armed with the ancient and venerable but very effective for arctic military operations - - the SMLE rifle!!
Also an integral part of this Canadian far-north military exercise are those Victoria class submarines, diesel powered, that have recently become part of the Canadian inventory? Canada did for a time "toy" with the idea of building their own indigenous nuclear submarine force, ideally suited for operations under the ice, but nixed the idea, rather going with diesel subs of modern superior design instead.
It is not only the desire on the part of the Canadians for continued dominion over the 19,000 islands of the Arctic archipelago or the desire to possess the "riches" that exists [?] on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean that extends northward of Canadian boundaries that motivates the Canadians! Other factors for a Canadian military presence in the far north include now and have included for some time:
1. "the United States . . . has refused to concede that the Northwest Passage, which snakes more than a thousand miles through Canada's Arctic islands, constitutes Canadian internal waters."
"a future Canadian Government might bar passage [to the Northwest Passage] to the United States Navy."
2. "The Canadians say that another reason for the Arctic patrols is concern that Soviet nuclear submarines could pass beneath the ice to the Arctic waters off Canada before launching a missile attack on the United States."
What is being suggested here? That American and Soviet/Russian nuclear attack/missile firing submarines are already operating in Canadian waters, under the ice, violating purported Canadian territorial waters, even in peace time, an egregious offense!? Either are operating now, or the possibility exists!
Anyhow, as I have said before, the Arctic is getting warm both literally and figuratively!!
coolbert.
Here, thanks to the tip from ISRIA.
"Canada starts Operation Nanook 09, a military exercise to confirm sovereignty over its arctic territory"
The Canadian military, flexing muscles in the far north, planning for the future, testing doctrine, tactics, concepts, etc. Right NOW, as we speak!
"The main objective is 'to ensure the monitoring of Canada’s territory and aerial and maritime approaches, including in the Arctic, in order to detect threats to safety and security'"
An integral part of Nanook will be the Canadian Rangers. Locals, experts at living in the harsh and unforgiving arctic environment! One important task of the Rangers will be to guard exercise participants - - particularly from attack by PREDATORS! That predator being the polar bear. The great white bear of the north, always ravenously hungry, looking for "lunch", and posing a grave danger to anyone in the vicinity. Nanook is the Eskimo [Inuit] name for the polar bear!!
"On the ground, the Arctic-survival-skilled Canadian Rangers will act as guides, experts on the land, and provide predator control."
Rangers armed with the ancient and venerable but very effective for arctic military operations - - the SMLE rifle!!
Also an integral part of this Canadian far-north military exercise are those Victoria class submarines, diesel powered, that have recently become part of the Canadian inventory? Canada did for a time "toy" with the idea of building their own indigenous nuclear submarine force, ideally suited for operations under the ice, but nixed the idea, rather going with diesel subs of modern superior design instead.
SSK Victoria Class Long-Range Patrol Submarine, Canada
It is not only the desire on the part of the Canadians for continued dominion over the 19,000 islands of the Arctic archipelago or the desire to possess the "riches" that exists [?] on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean that extends northward of Canadian boundaries that motivates the Canadians! Other factors for a Canadian military presence in the far north include now and have included for some time:
1. "the United States . . . has refused to concede that the Northwest Passage, which snakes more than a thousand miles through Canada's Arctic islands, constitutes Canadian internal waters."
"a future Canadian Government might bar passage [to the Northwest Passage] to the United States Navy."
2. "The Canadians say that another reason for the Arctic patrols is concern that Soviet nuclear submarines could pass beneath the ice to the Arctic waters off Canada before launching a missile attack on the United States."
What is being suggested here? That American and Soviet/Russian nuclear attack/missile firing submarines are already operating in Canadian waters, under the ice, violating purported Canadian territorial waters, even in peace time, an egregious offense!? Either are operating now, or the possibility exists!
Anyhow, as I have said before, the Arctic is getting warm both literally and figuratively!!
coolbert.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Ruby.
This is coolbert:
There are too, from the wiki entry on the Tallboy/Grand Slam bombs, some footnotes that got my attention immediately:
1. "After the war, bomb penetration tests with Tallboy and Grand Slam were conducted. Tallboys and Grand Slams were also carried experimentally by American B-29's (Operation Ruby)"
The target for this "test" [Ruby] was the Valentin submarine "pen", Bremen, Germany.
Bombs, the penetrator type of the Tallboy and Grand Slam variety, dropped IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE WAR, HOSTILITIES BEING OVER - - MERELY TO GIVE A REAL WORLD TEST TO THE "USEFULNESS" OF SUCH A WEAPON!
The particular target chosed for the Ruby "exercise" was the Valentin submarine pens!
coolbert.
There are too, from the wiki entry on the Tallboy/Grand Slam bombs, some footnotes that got my attention immediately:
1. "After the war, bomb penetration tests with Tallboy and Grand Slam were conducted. Tallboys and Grand Slams were also carried experimentally by American B-29's (Operation Ruby)"
The target for this "test" [Ruby] was the Valentin submarine "pen", Bremen, Germany.
Bombs, the penetrator type of the Tallboy and Grand Slam variety, dropped IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE WAR, HOSTILITIES BEING OVER - - MERELY TO GIVE A REAL WORLD TEST TO THE "USEFULNESS" OF SUCH A WEAPON!
The particular target chosed for the Ruby "exercise" was the Valentin submarine pens!
Here is a photo of the Valentin structure as of 2006.
NOT just submarine "pens" as the term is generally and ordinarily understood. A facility more a factory, specifically designated for the construction of the Type XXI U-Boat!
"Bombing by the RAF and the USAAF dramatically reduced production of U-boats by the German shipyards, so a bomb proof shelter was built under the codename Valentin at Farge in Bremen."
"It was planned that they would be used for assembly of the submarines of the type XXI."
Even to the end of the war, Doenitz and Hitler held out hopes, foolishly so, that the Type XXI, if brought into the fray quick enough and in sufficient numbers, could still win the Battle of the Atlantic for the German and bring the allies to the bargaining table!!
"The pens were attacked by No. 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on 27 March 1945 . . . Two Grand Slam bombs penetrated a section with a 4.5 m roof thick roof rendering the pens unusable"
Valentin had been attacked, most successfully too, by the RAF prior to the end of the war - - and then attacked once more - - IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE WAR!!
That Valentin structure still seems to be more or less intact and in one piece? Still being used in some capacity? It may be that Valentin resembles in a way the German flak towers of World War Two [WW2]? Built in such a sturdy manner that it is economically unfeasible to tear down? A white elephant if there ever was one?
See here excellent film footage from the era of a Grand Slam in action. "Bombing up", as the RAF referred to the loading of the Grand Slam on a Lancaster bomber, was just a feat in itself. And those RAF ground crews are always so spiffy in their uniforms with ties!
2. "Why these raids were carried out when the site was in Allied hands and no longer a threat is something of a mystery, unless it was to test the bomb's effectiveness against a reinforced concrete target"
In this particular case, the allies bombed German "rocket sites" in France, after capture! This was during the Battle of France [1944], the allied armies having moved far to the east! Bombing targets, hardened "rocket" sites, the purpose was to "test" the Tallboy/Grand Slam in a "captive" environment? Whether these sites were for the V-1 or V-2 is not clear?
coolbert.
Male Rape!
Here thanks to the New Duranty Times [The New York Times]!
A new - - a particularly troubling aspect - - to the phenomenon of rape as a weapon of war.
"Symbol of Unhealed Congo: Male Rape Victims"
"GOMA, Congo — It was around 11 p.m. when armed men burst into Kazungu Ziwa’s hut, put a machete to his throat and yanked down his pants. Mr. Ziwa is a tiny man, about four feet, six inches tall. He tried to fight back, but said he was quickly beaten down."
“'Then they raped me,' he said. 'It was horrible, physically. I was dizzy. My thoughts just left me.'”
"Aid workers struggle to explain the sudden spike in male rape cases. The best answer, they say, is that the sexual violence against men is yet another way for armed groups to humiliate and demoralize Congolese communities into submission."
Well, the aid workers do have it right. And it is not difficult to explain. Is EASY to explain. Rape is a weapon or war, always has been, always will be. Abuse, debase, humiliate the defeated population, defile the women in particular, create a state of anxiety and depression, a despair that is without hope. The defilement of a man by another man HAS A SPECIAL STIGMA TO IT?! You are a lesser being, not even a MAN any more, totally without power, weak, not a man OR a woman, a nothing!
On the part of the perpetrators, a power trip, and NOT merely the satisfying of sexual lust - - NOR homosexuals acting in a depraved manner! A beastliness without redemption.
Darfur - - mass rape of the women and branding. Darfur - - castration of captured males. And now in the Congo, male on male rape!
What next?
coolbert.
A new - - a particularly troubling aspect - - to the phenomenon of rape as a weapon of war.
"Symbol of Unhealed Congo: Male Rape Victims"
"GOMA, Congo — It was around 11 p.m. when armed men burst into Kazungu Ziwa’s hut, put a machete to his throat and yanked down his pants. Mr. Ziwa is a tiny man, about four feet, six inches tall. He tried to fight back, but said he was quickly beaten down."
“'Then they raped me,' he said. 'It was horrible, physically. I was dizzy. My thoughts just left me.'”
"Aid workers struggle to explain the sudden spike in male rape cases. The best answer, they say, is that the sexual violence against men is yet another way for armed groups to humiliate and demoralize Congolese communities into submission."
Well, the aid workers do have it right. And it is not difficult to explain. Is EASY to explain. Rape is a weapon or war, always has been, always will be. Abuse, debase, humiliate the defeated population, defile the women in particular, create a state of anxiety and depression, a despair that is without hope. The defilement of a man by another man HAS A SPECIAL STIGMA TO IT?! You are a lesser being, not even a MAN any more, totally without power, weak, not a man OR a woman, a nothing!
On the part of the perpetrators, a power trip, and NOT merely the satisfying of sexual lust - - NOR homosexuals acting in a depraved manner! A beastliness without redemption.
Darfur - - mass rape of the women and branding. Darfur - - castration of captured males. And now in the Congo, male on male rape!
What next?
coolbert.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Grand Slam.
This is coolbert:
First there was Tallboy, then there was Grand Slam.
Unconventional bombs, used by the British in World War Two [WW2]. Unconventional bombs, used in an unconventional manner, producing results that could be not obtained by other methods. Differed from your average-ordinary-everyday aerial bomb in that:
* "Impact close to the target" but not necessarily hitting directly.
* NOT necessarily destroying the target in the conventional sense of the term as generally understood. Often rendering the target unusable or ineffective, or creating enough damage that repair was economically unacceptable.
One plane - - dropping one bomb - - hitting with enough precision to "destroy" targets that prior had been the objective by multiple raids by hundreds of massed bomber aircraft, dropping literally thousands of bombs, results often being meagre at best!! One plane - - one bomb- - able to achieve in an instant what much more massive forces could NOT!!
"The Tallboy was an earth quake bomb . . . brought into operation by the British in 1944. It weighed five tons and . . . was effective against hardened structures"
"It was ballistically perfect and in consequence had a very high terminal velocity, variously estimated at . . . about 2,500 mph / 4,000 km/h . . . the noise of its fall would be heard after that of the explosion."
"The Grand Slam was a 10,000 kg ( 22,000 lb ) earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War."
"It [Grand Slam] was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb"
"the Grand Slam would reach near sonic speed approaching 320 m/s, and penetrate deep underground, with the explosion causing a camouflet (cavern) and shifting the ground to undermine a target's foundation."
Bombs, shaped and designed to resemble an airfoil, aerodynamic fins creating a stabilizing spin for accuracy, dropped from high-altitude, hand-built, expensive, not expendable "items", giving results against "hardened" targets of great importance to the Nazi war machine. The destruction of those targets actually influencing the course of the war to a desirable end for the allied forces.
"The bomb [Tallboy/Grand Slam] was designed to impact close to the target, slide into the soil or rock on which the target was built, and then detonate, transferring all of its energy into the structure, or creating a camouflet into which it fell. This 'earthquake' effect caused more damage than even a direct hit which penetrated the armour of a target, since even a burst inside a bunker would only damage the immediate surroundings . . . An earthquake impact, however, shook the whole target, and caused major structural damage to all parts of it, making repair uneconomic."
"ca⋅mou⋅flet - – noun 1. an underground explosion of a bomb or mine that does not break the surface, but leaves an enclosed cavity of gas and smoke. 2. the pocket formed by such an explosion."
The Tallboy/Grand Slam, exploding underground and NEXT to the hardened target, creates a void called a camouflet, the weakened, unsupported and cracked foundation and base of the target collapsing as a result. Target "destroyed" in a manner not possible by any other means!!
coolbert.
"the noise of its fall would be heard after that of the explosion."
First there was Tallboy, then there was Grand Slam.
Unconventional bombs, used by the British in World War Two [WW2]. Unconventional bombs, used in an unconventional manner, producing results that could be not obtained by other methods. Differed from your average-ordinary-everyday aerial bomb in that:
* "Impact close to the target" but not necessarily hitting directly.
* NOT necessarily destroying the target in the conventional sense of the term as generally understood. Often rendering the target unusable or ineffective, or creating enough damage that repair was economically unacceptable.
One plane - - dropping one bomb - - hitting with enough precision to "destroy" targets that prior had been the objective by multiple raids by hundreds of massed bomber aircraft, dropping literally thousands of bombs, results often being meagre at best!! One plane - - one bomb- - able to achieve in an instant what much more massive forces could NOT!!
"The Tallboy was an earth quake bomb . . . brought into operation by the British in 1944. It weighed five tons and . . . was effective against hardened structures"
"It was ballistically perfect and in consequence had a very high terminal velocity, variously estimated at . . . about 2,500 mph / 4,000 km/h . . . the noise of its fall would be heard after that of the explosion."
"The Grand Slam was a 10,000 kg ( 22,000 lb ) earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War."
"It [Grand Slam] was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb"
"the Grand Slam would reach near sonic speed approaching 320 m/s, and penetrate deep underground, with the explosion causing a camouflet (cavern) and shifting the ground to undermine a target's foundation."
Bombs, shaped and designed to resemble an airfoil, aerodynamic fins creating a stabilizing spin for accuracy, dropped from high-altitude, hand-built, expensive, not expendable "items", giving results against "hardened" targets of great importance to the Nazi war machine. The destruction of those targets actually influencing the course of the war to a desirable end for the allied forces.
"The bomb [Tallboy/Grand Slam] was designed to impact close to the target, slide into the soil or rock on which the target was built, and then detonate, transferring all of its energy into the structure, or creating a camouflet into which it fell. This 'earthquake' effect caused more damage than even a direct hit which penetrated the armour of a target, since even a burst inside a bunker would only damage the immediate surroundings . . . An earthquake impact, however, shook the whole target, and caused major structural damage to all parts of it, making repair uneconomic."
"ca⋅mou⋅flet - – noun 1. an underground explosion of a bomb or mine that does not break the surface, but leaves an enclosed cavity of gas and smoke. 2. the pocket formed by such an explosion."
The Tallboy/Grand Slam, exploding underground and NEXT to the hardened target, creates a void called a camouflet, the weakened, unsupported and cracked foundation and base of the target collapsing as a result. Target "destroyed" in a manner not possible by any other means!!
coolbert.
Burma.
This is coolbert:
From the prior blog entry:
"'Burma is building secret nuclear reactor and plutonium plant under northern mountain with North Korean help.'
'This too is surprising?'"
NOT so surprising to the major heavy hitters in the current U.S. administration. Persons who are policy and decision makers at the highest level have had their eye on this nexus between North Korea and Burma and ARE AWARE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO OUTLAW REGIMES. COLLABORATION IN THE AREA OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!
1. "Clinton Warns of Nuclear Ties Between Burma, North Korea "
This from most recently: [22 July 2009]
"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama administration is concerned about the possible transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Burma."
"any military ties between the authoritarian regimes of North Korea and Burma would pose a direct threat to Burma's neighbors."
"it is important for Burma's neighbors to pose a united front against a possible Burma-North Korea military alliance."
2. "Burma suspected of forming nuclear link with North Korea"
• "Hillary Clinton warns of military co-operation between regimes [North Korea and Burma]"
• "Proliferation experts track purchases of suspicious equipment"
A variety [?] of intelligence agencies have spotted trouble? "Worrying signs" do exist, to include:
* "The Burmese military has been doing business with a North Korean company that specialises in nuclear technology."
* "The junta [Burmese] has also made suspicious purchases of sophisticated dual-use equipment."
* "A North Korean ship suspected of heading to Burma with an unknown cargo turned back after being shadowed by American warships earlier this month."
* "Finally, reports have emerged of a secret visit by senior Burmese officials to North Korea late last year."
American intelligence agencies and the intelligence agencies of other friendly nations [??] are on the ball about this? This is intelligence work as it is supposed to be done! First-rate, high-grade intelligence being presented to the decision and policy makers well in advance of any crisis. "Measures" and "steps" can be taken well in advance to forestall dire and not foreseen consequences!
Burma, generally considered to be a third-world nation [is that term used any more, third-world?] does have considerable assets for trade on the world market, raw materials and precious gems. Resources are available for operating on a scale hitherto deemed not possible or even not desired?
ONLY SEVERAL YEARS AGO THE BURMESE JUNTA ABANDONED THE LONG-TIME CAPITAL CITY OF RANGOON AND BUILT A NEW CAPITAL CITY FAR INLAND, ABOUT TWO-HUNDRED MILES UP RIVER [IRRAWADDY], IN THE HOPE OF PREVENTING AN AMPHIBIOUS LANDING BY U.S. MARINES!!
The building of the new capital city was done for A GOOD REASON NOT PROPERLY DISCERNED AT THE TIME!!??
coolbert.
From the prior blog entry:
"'Burma is building secret nuclear reactor and plutonium plant under northern mountain with North Korean help.'
'This too is surprising?'"
NOT so surprising to the major heavy hitters in the current U.S. administration. Persons who are policy and decision makers at the highest level have had their eye on this nexus between North Korea and Burma and ARE AWARE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO OUTLAW REGIMES. COLLABORATION IN THE AREA OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!
1. "Clinton Warns of Nuclear Ties Between Burma, North Korea "
This from most recently: [22 July 2009]
"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama administration is concerned about the possible transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Burma."
"any military ties between the authoritarian regimes of North Korea and Burma would pose a direct threat to Burma's neighbors."
"it is important for Burma's neighbors to pose a united front against a possible Burma-North Korea military alliance."
2. "Burma suspected of forming nuclear link with North Korea"
• "Hillary Clinton warns of military co-operation between regimes [North Korea and Burma]"
• "Proliferation experts track purchases of suspicious equipment"
A variety [?] of intelligence agencies have spotted trouble? "Worrying signs" do exist, to include:
* "The Burmese military has been doing business with a North Korean company that specialises in nuclear technology."
* "The junta [Burmese] has also made suspicious purchases of sophisticated dual-use equipment."
* "A North Korean ship suspected of heading to Burma with an unknown cargo turned back after being shadowed by American warships earlier this month."
* "Finally, reports have emerged of a secret visit by senior Burmese officials to North Korea late last year."
American intelligence agencies and the intelligence agencies of other friendly nations [??] are on the ball about this? This is intelligence work as it is supposed to be done! First-rate, high-grade intelligence being presented to the decision and policy makers well in advance of any crisis. "Measures" and "steps" can be taken well in advance to forestall dire and not foreseen consequences!
Burma, generally considered to be a third-world nation [is that term used any more, third-world?] does have considerable assets for trade on the world market, raw materials and precious gems. Resources are available for operating on a scale hitherto deemed not possible or even not desired?
ONLY SEVERAL YEARS AGO THE BURMESE JUNTA ABANDONED THE LONG-TIME CAPITAL CITY OF RANGOON AND BUILT A NEW CAPITAL CITY FAR INLAND, ABOUT TWO-HUNDRED MILES UP RIVER [IRRAWADDY], IN THE HOPE OF PREVENTING AN AMPHIBIOUS LANDING BY U.S. MARINES!!
The building of the new capital city was done for A GOOD REASON NOT PROPERLY DISCERNED AT THE TIME!!??
coolbert.
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