Archive for November, 2006
Less than 48 hours after moving to my new host, problems cropped up. Twice. That was Friday morning, and it seemed to be resolved by noon. As my tracerts were all having trouble getting through Chicago, I even wondered if maybe the crush of Black Friday online shoppers was interfering somehow.
Unfortunately, the same issue has come up again today. (They haven’t told me it’s my fault so far, luckily.) I know that MO has been off the air at times today, and I apologize. The hosting company seems to be working hard at resolving the problem, and they have been communicating very diligently, so I’m giving them a bit of leeway. Besides, I don’t feel like moving again.
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Once again, military technology from the 1986 film ‘Aliens’ shows up on the battlefield. Though these cameras are the personal property of the British troops and are not directly networked back to leadership, it’s only a matter of time.
But the common worry that new digital media brings hasn’t gone anywhere:
While use of the helmet- mounted cameras has given the public unprecedented access to the dangerous, but exciting world of warfare, senior officers are understood to be growing increasingly concerned about the trend.
Some believe that it is only a matter of time before a British soldier is killed while trying to take so called “happy snaps” or that footage of a British soldier being killed in action appears on the internet.
Footage shot by the troops available at Shot in battle, by the video soldiers. Astounding. (Though I don’t quite understand what’s up with the windows at the very end of the daylight video.)
Yesterday we were treated to a bunch of headlines like this:
US involved in Iraq longer than in WWII
Trying to debate this is obviously a waste of time. Just like the ‘Iraqi Civil War’ debate, everyone is going to use their own definition of the term in question. Oh, and coincidentally, the definition they choose to use will support their political position.
“Involved” is the key term here:
- Japan didn’t sign until September 2nd. Do we note passing that count, as well?
- What about our very real involvement in supporting the Brits against the Germans long before Pearl Harbor?
- If only actual combat counts, what about the Flying Tigers in China and the Eagle Squadron in Europe?
- The occupation of Germany lasted until 1955. The occupation of Japan only lasted until 1952. Isn’t occupying a conquered nation “involvement”?
- Of course, we still have many troops stationed in both nations. Or doesn’t that count?
- If occupation doesn’t count, then the Iraqi campaign only lasted a few weeks, right?
Of course, folks will just whine and complain about any attempts to apply any sort of apples-to-apples comparison if it undermines their position.
Meanwhile:
Using these numbers, we can expect to see “US Casualties in Iraq surpass those in WWII” on or about the 27th of May in the year 2523.
Sort of makes trying to compare them seem kind of silly, doesn’t it?
UPDATE: A reader points out that the Flying Tigers didn’t enter combat until 20 Dec 1941. My bad. They had been in Burma since the summer of ‘41 training, and I thought that they had already entered combat by the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. They hadn’t.
This is a reminder that Bill Roggio of the Fourth Rail is going back to Iraq within the next week.
This is something:
I was able to secure the embed without going through an outside media organization, as I had to do in the past. I established a non-profit, called Public Multimedia, Inc., incorporated as a media company, and was able to obtain my own credentials. This is a great start to allow me to embed in the future, as well as potentially sponsor others who are interested in embedding. This also should put to rest any claims the military is censoring or unwilling to work with bloggers.
Emphasis was deservedly in the original. That’s really a big deal, if you ask Murdoc.
Bill’s still needing a little more funding (well, okay, $3,000) to make this happen the way it should happen. He’s doing this on his own, and if you value his reporting please consider tossing a bit of cash in his direction.
Army Game Proves U.S. Can’t Lose
Future Force Company Commander (or F2C2) is the follow-on computer game simulation to the very successful America’s Army. It features the the Army’s upcoming Future Combat Systems (FCS) and demonstrates how the high-tech networked army of the future will kick some serious tail. Because it’s designed to:
“They didn’t ask for hole punchers,” says Mark Long, co-CEO of Zombie, where the game was built under contract. “High tech has all kinds of low-tech vulnerabilities and they didn’t want the vulnerabilities programmed in.”
File this under “What a moron, Take 3“. (Takes one and two ran earlier today.)
More Sheehanigans:
Police block anti-war activists Cindy Sheehan (L) of the US, whose son Casey was killed during combat in Iraq in April 2004, and Medea Benjamin (R), the founding director of Code Pink, as they try to enter the headquarters of US Forces Korea (USFK) to meet the USFK head in Seoul. A group of US peace activists led by Sheehan staged a protest outside the headquarters base of US troops, urging a halt to the relocation of US military bases in South Korea.(AFP/Kim Jae-Hwan)
If this hadn’t run on Yahoo under an AFP byline, I’d strongly suspect photoshop. This placard is just the type of thing used to build common “enter your text”-type sign-building toys. And the whole image looks a bit weird. Colors and lighting appears to be off, and such.
Still, these loons don’t get the benefit of the doubt here at MO. They’ve proven themselves time and time again that they’re capable of some of the stupidest things, and they’ve shown no inclination to alter their behavior. (via Milblogs)
We’ve all been treated to a fair amount of ignorant writing about Iraq over the past four years. But this has got to be near the top of the ’stupid’ list:
Jonathan Chait: Bring back Saddam Hussein
Restoring the dictator to power may give Iraqis the jolt of authority they need. Have a better solution?
That is the new “stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”. Here’s a taste of Chait’s wisdom:
Yes, I know. Hussein is a psychotic mass murderer. Under his rule, Iraqis were shot, tortured and lived in constant fear. Bringing the dictator back would sound cruel if it weren’t for the fact that all those things are also happening now, probably on a wider scale.
The earlier “What a moron” post today was one thing. I believe that the creator of the image and the guy who re-posted it both knew it was a joke (even if they apparently didn’t understand why their joke didn’t work) and jokes, even stupid jokes, are one thing.
I believe that this Chait guy really believes what he writes. That is another thing altogether.
This is SO FUNNY:
Hilarious!
Of course, what’s so funny isn’t that President Bush is a dumb chimp or whatever. It’s that the stupid morons who made this joke and the stupid morons who posted it on their site under the title “The Real Reason We Invaded Iraq” apparently don’t have a clue about history or current events.
LOL!
This is a classic:
WKRP in Cinncinati was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I guess I better see if it’s still running somewhere so I can TiVo it. Good stuff.
Clip via Rocket Jones and Off Wing Opinion.
UPDATE: This clip was pulled Thanksgiving morning, 2008. Try again here.
World War I veteran Ernest Pusey dies at 111
Fewer than 25 American WW1 vets still live. Pusey served on the battleship USS Wyoming.
Shocking! U.S. Police Patrol on German Autobahn!
American imperialists continue their plan to subjugate the globe.
October Iraqi Deaths Nearly Match An Average Month in Brazil
Sure, things need to get better. But let’s not lose perspective, either.
Roll your SUV eight times? You can star in a TV commercial!
Emily Bowens’ accident was caught on a sherrif’s car cam, and she’s now being featured in a seat belt awareness television campaign.
U.S. Soldiers Share Thanksgiving Tradition With Iraqis
Iraqi commander: “We come and eat together as brothers.”
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