Archive for September, 2008

Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter

Brickmuppet has much more info on this sharp-looking boat.

EagleSpeak has the details on Somali pirates holding “tank” ship squabble- 3 die

They’ve got plenty of weaponry aboard. Maybe if we wait long enough, problem will take care of itself?

If not for the hostages, I’d say wait ‘em out. With maybe some gunnery practice from the USS Howard twice a day and three times a night. Maybe tow a hulk over within sight and send it to the bottom with gunfire.

I’m wondering what, if any, long-term effect this incident is going to have on high-seas piracy.

An F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker from the Mississippi Air National Guard while another F-15, top, and an F-22 Raptor standby Sept. 22, 2008, during a refueling mission over Eastern Florida. The F-15s are from the 325th Fighter Wing out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. (DoD photo by Master Sgt. Scott Reed, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Meanwhile, don’t forget that the KC-X has been punted at least until the next President takes office.

Howard Fineman on MSNBC.com:

Bailout ushers in the era of Obama

The era of cowboy capitalism has died, largely of self-inflicted wounds. Who knows what’s coming now? I do: A new era of tight business regulation and government intervention in the markets.

For now, and perhaps for many years, there will be no going back.

The Rubicon was crossed this weekend, when the deal was struck for a $700 billion federal takeover of the carcass of Wall Street.

At that moment, the conservative era in America, which began with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, ended. It did so not with a bang, but with a whimper — a cry of help from erstwhile Masters of the Universe who suddenly feared for their platinum-level lives.

Headline on MSNBC.com: HOUSE REJECTS BAILOUT BILL

Is Fineman going to write another story telling us how the Obama era is over?

Somali pirate demands $20 million ransom

As a heavily armed U.S. freighter patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead, a Somali pirate spokesman told The Associated Press his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.

He claims they’ll fight to the death if anyone tries to retake the ship.

Oh, and the “freighter”? This is it:

Starboard bow view of the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA Aegis Class guided missile destroyer USS HOWARD (DDG 83) underway at high speed during her builder's acceptance trials. Photographer's Name: BATH IRON WORKS Date Shot: 5/21/2001

Not exactly a tramp steamer…

Dems Try to Sneak Shale Oil Ban Past Voters
Harry Reid attempted to pull a fast one.

Obama threatening the licenses of TV stations that run NRA ads
Attacking the 1st Amendment in order to attack the 2nd Amendment?

Al Qaeda-linked suspects emerge in Islamabad Marriott attacks
Qari Saifullah Akhtar, the leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and Qari Mohammad Zafar, a leader of the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, have both been implicated as being the mastermind of the Marriott bombing

Code Pink declares victory in Berkeley… by packing up and going home
They claim to be successfully “deconstructing the U.S. military, making the world safe and secure!” by abandoning their protest outside a Marine recruiting station. The Marines remain in control of the battlespace. Like usual.

The Great New Orleans Gun Grab
A must-read for anyone interested in gun rights. In ANY rights, for that matter.

Exonerated Marine to sue Rep. Murtha
Not sure why Murtha hasn’t been vilified for his “cold-blooded murder” claims. Maybe because so many were disappointed he was wrong.

Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing
Yves Rossy made it. Cool.

Contractors Expand As Conscription Fades
Not exactly ‘trigger happy mercenaries,’ but we love ‘em anyway…

Starship Troopers Meets G.I. Joe
Finally the XM25 seems to be going somewhere.

Bush vs. Barney on the Fannie/Freddie thing
Probably should watch the video before everyone blames Bush and the evil GOP.

Passing gas is battery on a police officer?
“The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons,” the complaint says.

Russia Lends Venezuela $1B to Buy Arms
Start calling this the “Trans-Atlantic Rooskie Axis.”

Ford to bring six fuel-efficient European models stateside
The Lefties always seem so eager to imitate Europe, except when it comes to some energy issues. I’d like to see the US go as nuclear and diesel as Old Europe.

Living Well for Less?
Dr. Helen looks at a book about how to live on $12k a year. One suggestion is to get free medical care by volunteering to have new drugs tested on you.

6 Baffling Mistakes Every Movie Criminal Makes
Cracked.com’s lists of movie idiocy should be required reading for all wannabe screenwriters.

Ukranian ship carrying tanks seized by pirates

A Ukrainian ship captured by Somali pirates en route to Somalia is carrying at least 30 tanks, a regional maritime organisation said today.

Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine also said the ship, operating under a Belize flag, had a military cargo “including about 30 T-72 tanks”.

That would be a significant and potentially dangerous seizure in Somalia, where Islamist insurgents have been battling the government and its Ethiopian military allies for nearly two years.

That’s comforting news.

What the official original destination of the arms shipment and the total number of tanks really is seems to be in question.

UPDATE: More in the Danger Room.

How Many JDAM Is Enough?

Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1

Army Times had a story a few weeks ago about the 3rd infantry Division’s 1st BCT upcoming mission:

Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.

But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

The Einsteins at Reddit seem to have just noticed it now and are fully supportive:

• U.S. Troops In Homeland “Crowd Control” Patrols From October 1st (in complete violation of Posse Comitatus)
• US troops will patrol American streets, starting on 1 october 2008
• U.S. Troops, Just Home From Iraq, In Homeland “Crowd Control” Patrols Beginning October 1st — R.I.P. Posse Comitatus

I pointed out that there’s nothing in the story about patrols, but my comments are sure to be downvoted because instead of playing nice I’m getting all factual and everything.

Does anyone have a favorite social bookmarking-type site with a wide range of submissions that doesn’t seem to be populated mostly by teenage revolutionary wanabes?

UPDATE: Here’s a brilliant comeback to one of my comments:

And maybe they are getting ready for the “october suprise” that a few politicians have warned us about.

And I am just as sick of the anti-alarmist. The ones who have been warning have hit the nail on the head every time, including this current wall street problem, the housing market, wars, false flag operations, media lies, government deceptions and coverups.

geeze, I fear the anti-alarmist more than the alarmist.

If I could make up stuff like that and publish it, I wouldn’t have to work for a living.

I’m a little confused about the “anti-alarmist” tag. Is everyone who doesn’t get alarmed an “anti-alarmist”? Or only people who say that alarmist claims aren’t correct?

UPDATE 2: A couple more posted by the same guy seven minutes apart:

• US Combat Troops to Patrol the ‘Homeland’ Starting October 1st in Complete Violation of ‘Posse Comitatus & Insurrection Act’ for “Civil Unrest & Crowd Control” – NORTHCOM Martial Law in America!
• US Combat Troops to Patrol the ‘Homeland’ Starting October 1st in Violation of ‘Posse Comitatus’ & the ‘Insurrection Act’ for “Civil Unrest & Crowd Control” – NORTHCOM Martial Law in America!

You might think I made a mistake and posted the same one twice. I didn’t. He just apparently isn’t terribly creative other than posting crap headlines.

Pakistani military fires on US helicopters at border

Bill Roggio:

The Pakistani military fired on US helicopters as they attempted to cross the border in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, according to reports from the region. The latest US incursion comes just two days after a suicide bombing destroyed the Marriott Hotel in the heart of Islamabad. A little-known terror group took credit for the strike.

As usual, it’s tough to know who, if anyone, is telling the truth.

“There was no such incursion; there was no such event,” Colonel Gary Keck, a Defense Department spokesman told The Associated Press.