Before you had an iPhone that call any song up instantly, it took an effort to listen to specific music. And this was a song that always comes along as the year ends, and we look back at the previous year. In the case of this song, to a memory of "the one that you let get away," if you will. The lyrics are perfect, the story of two former lovers meeting by complete coincidence, and the years are irrelevant, and the memories fresh as today.
As the year ends, 2020 arrives, and we get ready for the resolutions, sit back and enjoy the end of year classic. Dan Fogelberg, Same Old Lang Syne.
Happy New Year.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Monday, December 30, 2019
The false god of diversity über alles...
In November, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan murdered 13 Americans at Fort Hood, Texas, screaming "'Allahu Akba!" In the immediate aftermath, as it was discovered how his problematic behavior was known and swept under the rug, the then Army Chief of Staff made a disgusting statement. As the bodies had not even been removed (only slight exaggeration), he showed what he was concerned about:
Well, move on, we find one criminal act after another of un-assimilated foreigners, the thought that "diversity" is not all that it's cracked up to be. In the last two months, we've had multiple attacks on Jews in New York, and it's a "diverse" group of attackers. Well, found this article earlier today, and it's interesting:
Disagreement, "diversity" of skin color, religion, etc, is not a strength. Diversity of thought is a strength. Also, tolerance and acceptance of different peoples, religions, etc, is a strength. Knowing a black man can work well with a white woman, etc, is good and helpful. More on this later.
Deliberately so. They cannot appeal to the broad population as a whole, so it must divide into groups and play them against each other. See Rules for Radicals.
Excellent look at how the idol worship of the outer self is destroying our nation. A point Mr. Simon made is "E pluribus unum” (out of many one)" has largely disappeared. The American melting pot has been replaced with a salad bowl. Instead of assimilating into America as a whole, we keep the groups separate and against each other. And it's a result of deliberate action of the federal government.
In reference to my comment on diversity, tolerance, etc, I recall the wisdom of my last professor of military science (PMS) at Tulane University. He was a Special Forces officer, a Vietnam veteran, and he grew up in the Army of the 60s and 70s. The one that was broken by, among other things, racism. Now the ROTC detachment he headed covered six universities around New Orleans, including 3 traditionally black colleges. When we did operations, field problems, etc, the PMS instructed his staff, "Mix every university, insure we have blacks from one college working with whites from another, women with men, etc. They will be leading a mixed army, they need to know how to be comfortable and competent with people not like them." That was intelligence guided by experience and wisdom. Unlike the race baiting poverty industry we have now.
.”“You know, there’s been a lot of speculation going on and probably the curiosity is a good thing,” said Casey of accused killer Nidal Malik Hasan. “But we have to be careful because we can’t jump to conclusions now based on little snippets of information that come out. And frankly, I am worried — not worried, not worried, but I’m concerned — that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers and I’ve asked our army leaders to be on the look out for that. it would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was — it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well
Well, move on, we find one criminal act after another of un-assimilated foreigners, the thought that "diversity" is not all that it's cracked up to be. In the last two months, we've had multiple attacks on Jews in New York, and it's a "diverse" group of attackers. Well, found this article earlier today, and it's interesting:
Diversity Obsession Partly to Blame for Rise in Anti-Semitism
Roger L. Simon
The horrible attack on a Jewish shul in Monsey, New York on the seventh night of Hanukkah is not directly connected to the atmosphere on American campuses and, sadly, in certain quarters of the U.S. Congress. But they are of a piece spiritually and psychologically.
Something is drastically wrong. The canary in the coal mine (Jews first, others later) is back. It’s permissible to slur Jews and to beat or stab them (five different violent incidents during this Hanukkah alone in the New York City area). Jewish students on college campuses are hiding their religious affiliation as they cross the green to class.
Why now? What has caused all this?
It’s not the sole reason, but I am going to say something outrageous to some. It is the worship of diversity. Note that word—worship.
Diversity is by itself a good thing. We are a diverse society. As many have said, that’s part of our strength...
Disagreement, "diversity" of skin color, religion, etc, is not a strength. Diversity of thought is a strength. Also, tolerance and acceptance of different peoples, religions, etc, is a strength. Knowing a black man can work well with a white woman, etc, is good and helpful. More on this later.
"...What has developed in recent decades, however, is the elevation of diversity above all. The slogan “E pluribus unum” (out of many one) has virtually disappeared from our country, the “unum” pushed to irrelevance.
Everywhere we go these days, diversity is counted and measured ad nauseum. How many of this group? How many of that group? It’s an obsession.
Where you worship diversity, there will always be winners and losers in that diversity. Like it or not, it creates a pecking order. And these pecking orders are reinforced, consciously and unconsciously, by our media, entertainment, and the academy.
And, naturally enough, out of pecking orders, hatreds (or old hatreds, as in the case of anti-Semitism) emerge.
Today’s Democratic Party with its devotion to and reliance on identity politics fans these hatreds, deliberately or not....
Deliberately so. They cannot appeal to the broad population as a whole, so it must divide into groups and play them against each other. See Rules for Radicals.
...How absurd and morally and psychologically damaging this is when we are all humans with nearly identical DNA. It’s a reactionary and proto-fascist idea masquerading as progressive. It is, in essence, a new form of segregationism.
Yet it has spread and been transmogrified to many aspects of our society. Identity is everywhere. Even the recent killings at the New Jersey kosher market were motivated by some people thinking they were the real Jews and the other people weren’t. How crazy is that!...
Excellent look at how the idol worship of the outer self is destroying our nation. A point Mr. Simon made is "E pluribus unum” (out of many one)" has largely disappeared. The American melting pot has been replaced with a salad bowl. Instead of assimilating into America as a whole, we keep the groups separate and against each other. And it's a result of deliberate action of the federal government.
In reference to my comment on diversity, tolerance, etc, I recall the wisdom of my last professor of military science (PMS) at Tulane University. He was a Special Forces officer, a Vietnam veteran, and he grew up in the Army of the 60s and 70s. The one that was broken by, among other things, racism. Now the ROTC detachment he headed covered six universities around New Orleans, including 3 traditionally black colleges. When we did operations, field problems, etc, the PMS instructed his staff, "Mix every university, insure we have blacks from one college working with whites from another, women with men, etc. They will be leading a mixed army, they need to know how to be comfortable and competent with people not like them." That was intelligence guided by experience and wisdom. Unlike the race baiting poverty industry we have now.
Monday, December 16, 2019
A Hail Mary that didn't work.....
The Battle of the Bulge (officially called the Ardennes Counteroffensive) started in early December 1944. Hitler hoped to catch the Allies napping. He did.
In the beginning of the operations, the US 106th Infantry Division was overrun, and the 101st Airborne Division went to secure the critical city of Bastone. And it's arguable, this was the Finest Hour, for the American Army. This week marks the 75th Anniversary of this epic battle. I think I gotta watch Pattonthis weekend.
The German's had the initial advantage of surprise, and poor weather that kept Allies air grounded. However, the German's never got to their first objective of Antwerp, and the Allies quickly recovered:
The father of a close friend was in one of Patton's "three divisions" that broke though to Bastone, relieving the 101st. The youngest veterans of that fight are now in their 90s. Damn, has time flown. But to borrow the phrase from Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "...The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here...."
To the men who have passed, Rest In Peace. To those who are still here, thank you is all we can say. God knows, we can never repay our dept to you.
In the beginning of the operations, the US 106th Infantry Division was overrun, and the 101st Airborne Division went to secure the critical city of Bastone. And it's arguable, this was the Finest Hour, for the American Army. This week marks the 75th Anniversary of this epic battle. I think I gotta watch Pattonthis weekend.
‘Nuts!’ US troops thwarted Hitler’s last gamble 75 years ago
BASTOGNE, Belgium (AP) — Pvt. Arthur Jacobson was seeking cover in the snow behind a tank moving slowly through the wooded hills of Belgium's Ardennes, German bullets whizzing by.
That was when he lost his best friend and Bazooka team partner to sniper fire. “They couldn't hit him, he shouted," Jacobson said wistfully. “Those were his last words.”
The recollection of his worst day in the Battle of the Bulge still haunts him, three quarters of a century later during the first return of the 95-year-old to the battlefield....
The fighting in the bitterly cold winter of 1944 was unforgiving to the extreme...
...What Jacobson didn't know then was that he was part of the battle to contain Nazi Germany's desperate last offensive that Adolf Hitler hoped would become his version of the Allies' D-Day: A momentous thrust that would change the course of World War II by forcing U.S. and British troops to sue for peace, thus freeing Germany to focus on rapidly advancing Soviet armies in the east.
“WE WERE THERE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT"
The Battle of the Bulge "is arguably the greatest battle in American military history,” according to the U.S. army historical center. Such perspective came only later to Jacobson, who was barely 20 at the time.
“They really didn't tell us anything," he said . "The Germans had attacked through Belgium, and we were there to do something about it.”
Out of the blue at dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, over 200,000 German troops counter-attacked across the front line in Belgium and Luxembourg, smashing into battle-weary US soldiers positioned in terrain as foreign to them as it was familiar to the Germans.
Yet somehow, the Americans blunted the advance and started turning back the enemy for good, setting allied troops on a roll that would end the war in Europe less than five months later.
This battle gained fame not so much for the commanders' tactics as for the resilience of small units hampered by poor communications that stood shoulder to shoulder to deny Hitler the quick breakthrough he desperately needed. Even though the Americans were often pushed back, they were able to delay the German advance in its crucial initial stages. The tipping point was to come later...
...“The thought was that Germany was on its knees and could no longer raise a big army,”said Mathieu Billa, director of the Bastogne War Museum.
Still, Hitler believed Germany could turn the tide, and centered on regaining the northern Belgian port of Antwerp with a push through the sparsely populated Ardennes.
The 120-mile (170 kilometer) dash seemed so fanciful that few of Hitler's own generals believed in it, let alone the allied command. Allied intelligence heard something might be afoot, but even on the eve of the attack the U.S. VIII Corps daily note said that "There is nothing to report."
For days to follow, the only reports would be bad for U.S. troops retreating amid word that SS troops were executing their prisoners — like at Malmedy, where 80 surrendered soldiers were murdered in a frozen field...
...Nowhere was that tipping point more visible than in the southern Ardennes town of Bastogne, where surrounded U.S. troops were cut off for days with little ammunition or food.
When Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne received a Dec. 22 ultimatum to surrender or face total destruction, he offered one of the most famous — and brief — replies in military history: “”Nuts.""
Four days later, Patton's troops broke the encirclement. And so it went with the Battle of the Bulge too, with the U.S. troops gaining momentum after Christmas...
The German's had the initial advantage of surprise, and poor weather that kept Allies air grounded. However, the German's never got to their first objective of Antwerp, and the Allies quickly recovered:
...firm resistance by various isolated units provided time for the U.S. First and Ninth Armies to shift against the northern flank of the penetration, for the British to send reserves to secure the line to the Meuse, and for Patton's Third Army to hit the salient from the south. Denied vital roads and hampered by air attack when the weather cleared, the German attack resulted only in a large bulge in the Allied lines which did not even extend to the Meuse River, the Germans' first objective. The Americans suffered some 75,000 casualties in the Battle of the Bulge, but the Germans lost 80,000 to l00,000. German strength had been irredeemably impaired. By the end of January 1945, American units had retaken all ground they had lost, and the defeat of Germany was clearly only a matter of time. In the east the Red Army had opened a winter offensive that was to carry, eventually, to and beyond Berlin.
The father of a close friend was in one of Patton's "three divisions" that broke though to Bastone, relieving the 101st. The youngest veterans of that fight are now in their 90s. Damn, has time flown. But to borrow the phrase from Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "...The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here...."
To the men who have passed, Rest In Peace. To those who are still here, thank you is all we can say. God knows, we can never repay our dept to you.
Friday, December 13, 2019
An incredible version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Sometimes when you don't look, you find.
I was watching YouTube last week and found this performance of the George Harrison classic by pure accident. From the 2003 Concert for George, the list of performers is like a who's who of multiple musical halls of fame. Both living Beetles (Paul McCartney on piano, Ringo Starr on drums), George Harrison's son Dhani and ELO founder Jeff Lynne on guitar, and on lead vocals and guitar, the only three time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Slow Hand himself, Eric Clapton.
Towards the end (5:45), I love the look on Clapton's face, after he's been on a two minute tear on his guitar, "TOP THIS MOTHER F&*(ER!"
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
I was watching YouTube last week and found this performance of the George Harrison classic by pure accident. From the 2003 Concert for George, the list of performers is like a who's who of multiple musical halls of fame. Both living Beetles (Paul McCartney on piano, Ringo Starr on drums), George Harrison's son Dhani and ELO founder Jeff Lynne on guitar, and on lead vocals and guitar, the only three time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Slow Hand himself, Eric Clapton.
Towards the end (5:45), I love the look on Clapton's face, after he's been on a two minute tear on his guitar, "TOP THIS MOTHER F&*(ER!"
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Monday, December 9, 2019
OK. a Christian church is lying about the birth of Christ...
Again, the People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia comes through. Whenever you think they have hit rock bottom, someone takes out a pick ax, or a jackhammer (coal powered, of course) and goes deeper.
At the Claremont United Methodist Church, a "nativity" scene. I amazes me that anyone with a basic knowledge of the Bible knows Mary and Joseph did not invade another nation, they were in Bethlehem to participate in a census and pay their taxes. But never let realty get in the way of political correctness. And where is Americans United for Separation of Church and State on this? Isn't a "church" getting involved in a political issue here?
BTY libtards, it was B Hussein Obama who put the illegal aliens into cages.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Tell me Chicago is not a war zone...
I recall the experience of Brigadier General James Dozier, who was kidnapped in 1981 by the Red Brigade in Italy. In the 42 days he was held hostage, he found out how easy he was to track. He left his apartment almost every day at the same time (plus or minus 10 minutes), took the same route, left the office at almost the same time every day, etc. Helps the bad guys to know where the target is.
CBS Chicago, Friday, December 6, 2019:
CBS Chicago, Friday, December 6, 2019:
Off-duty Chicago police officer followed from station, shot at The officer was not injured in the attack Yesterday at 11:20 AMEver now and then I remind my officers to vary where they take a break, where they sit in the restaurant, where they do their reports, as this may make you more vulnerable. Thankfully I'm in Houston where the population is supportive of my officers. Unfortunately, our Blue family in the Windy City has more issues. It's bad we have to practice antiterrorism techniques in our third largest city.
PoliceOne Staff
CHICAGO — An off-duty Chicago police officer was followed and shot at after he left his station Tuesday night.
According to CBS 2, police say the shooting happened after a man jumped out of a gray Dodge Caravan and began firing at the officer’s vehicle. A former police officer who lived nearby and heard the shooting, but didn’t want to identify himself to media, said he heard “at least twelve” gunshots.
“It sounded like an automatic,” the former officer told CBS 2. “The first thing I did was duck away from the window. I did hit the floor.”
Officials told CBS 2 the shooter got back into the Caravan and drove away. The off-duty officer was uninjured and did not fire his weapon during the attack. Police have yet to make an arrest in the case.
Friday, December 6, 2019
I know I love my niece. I am missing this bucket list item for her wedding...
Almost a quarter century ago, my brothers, their wives, a friend of mine, and I attended the Hell Freezes Over Tour of the Eagles, the reunion Don Henley swore would never happen. But when I heard they had reunited, I called my brother Bobby and said, "As broke as I am, if I have to rob an old woman for her Social Security check, I'll do it to make this concert!" And one my of life's objectives was achieved.
Fast forward a 24 years, and I was hoping to see Kansas. Alas, they will be here the weekend of Jessica's wedding. You know I must love you if I'm missing this!
Real rock and roll, from a legendary band. Enjoy their signature song, Carry on Wayward Son.
I'm hoping they extend the tour in 2020! Have a great weekend!
Fast forward a 24 years, and I was hoping to see Kansas. Alas, they will be here the weekend of Jessica's wedding. You know I must love you if I'm missing this!
Real rock and roll, from a legendary band. Enjoy their signature song, Carry on Wayward Son.
I'm hoping they extend the tour in 2020! Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Officer Down
Detective Christopher CranstonRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
New York City Police Department, New York
End of Watch Saturday, July 20, 2019
Age 48
Detective Christopher Cranston died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Detective Cranston is survived by his wife.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, seventy-two officers from a total of eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed when terrorist hijackers working for the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden, crashed four hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
After the impact of the first plane into the World Trade Center's North Tower, putting the safety of others before their own, law enforcement officers along with fire and EMS personnel, rushed to the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to aid the victims and lead them to safety. Due to their quick actions, it is estimated that over 25,000 people were saved.
As the evacuation continued, the South Tower unexpectedly collapsed as a result of the intense fire caused by the impact. The North Tower collapsed a short time later. Seventy-one law enforcement officers, 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and over 2,800 civilians were killed at the World Trade Center site.
A third hijacked plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania when the passengers attempted to re-take control of the plane. One law enforcement officer, who was a passenger on the plane, was killed in that crash.
The fourth hijacked plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing almost 200 military and civilian personnel. No law enforcement officers were killed at the Pentagon on 9/11.
The terrorist attacks resulted in the declaration of war against the Taliban regime, the illegal rulers of Afghanistan, and the al Qaeda terrorist network which also was based in Afghanistan.
On September 9th, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed on September 11th, 2001, were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.
The contamination in the air at the World Trade Center site caused many rescue personnel to become extremely ill and eventually led to the death of several rescue workers.
On May 1st, 2011 members of the United States military conducted a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Officer Down
Sergeant Michael StephenRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Stone County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas
End of Watch Thursday, July 18, 2019
Age 56
Tour 20 years
Sergeant Mike Stephen was shot and killed while responding to a domestic incident at a home in the area of 2020 Flag Road at about 9:00 am.
He was speaking to a female in the front yard when another subject opened fire, striking Sergeant Stephen and the woman. The subject who shot Sergeant Stephen was found dead by responding deputies.
Sergeant Stephen was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Stone County Sheriff's Office for 20 years. He also served as chief of the Pineville Fire Department and had previously served with the Arkansas Department of Correction. He is survived by his wife.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Even for the ultra PC crowd, this is ridiculus.
Mispronounced names are the latest form of racism. Another case of you can't believe they are this ridiculous. It's something so preposterous it has to be federally funded. Oh, yea, it comes from an NPR podcast
When I was in Kuwait (2005/06) I met a Navy lieutenant commander with a Polish last name, about 15 letters long. I asked how it was pronounced, and he said it. I lost lost track after the third syllable, and I said, "Ski, yea, got it!" He laughed and said that was what most people called him. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, talked about having unusual names for a few minutes, and went on with our day.
My last name has been mispronounced (FYI, it's Parisian French) for my entire life. I once had it butchered by the announcer at the Superdome in New Orleans when I commanded the Army ROTC Color Guard at a Saints game. And my vagina was never in pain (I'm rephrasing it to be decent) over that. Grow up children, if someone mispronounces your name, politely correct them. If you accidentally mispronounce theirs, don't take offense when they correct you. Otherwise, go back to your safe space and leave the world to the adults.
The racist practice of mispronouncing names
When Zuheera Ali walks into a coffee shop, she stands outside the door, opens her wallet, takes out her card, figures out exactly what she wants to order, and she reminds herself: ‘You’re Billy. You’re Billy.’
The barista doesn't believe her, of course. But they can’t do anything about it.
As her co-host Keya Roy says, "You can be whoever you want because you will never see this barista again..."
...Kumar remembers a time in second grade when she had to give a PowerPoint presentation in front of her class: “I was standing in front of my classmates and my teacher had turned on autocorrect. The first slide was just supposed to be my name, but was corrected to read ‘Media K-Mart.’ It was so embarrassing.”
Keya Roy says she has stopped correcting her teachers when they mispronounce her name. “At some point, it’s just futile,” Roy says.
Zuheera Ali says she was never one to let someone say her name wrong.
"My name is my identity, and allowing someone else to say it wrong is stripping me of that," she says. "I feel like as a woman of color, I’m expected to make these changes, especially when I’m at school. But asking me to make my name easier to pronounce is a very unfair way that I have to change."
Says co-host Keya Roy: “I always felt like by giving into that pressure to conform and allowing my name to be butchered, I was somehow making life easier for others...
"My name is a way to push me aside, and most of the time, the people who are doing this don't realize the damage they could be doing to my self-worth and sense of confidence."
"People will try to — as a blatant sign of disrespect — mispronounce my name or mock my name," Oluo says. "I get that on social media all the time."
Oluo says people on social media will "deliberately, wildly misspell my name to show to other people how serious must I be taken if I don't even have what they would consider to be a serious name. It's racist at its core to think that other cultures names are invalid. It's othering and purposefully disrespectful, and it's often used as a weapon against me."
She continues: "It's my name and I won't let anyone take that from me..."
"The changing of peoples names has a racialized history," said Kohli. "It's grounded in slavery — the renaming during slavery — renaming Americanization schools for Latinx communities and indigenous communities, and so there is a lot of history that's tied to this practice that is directly tied to racism."
This history is painful even though it seems so far in the past, Zuheera Ali says. But history is not removed for many African-Americans, many of whom don't know their ancestors' names and carry the names of slave owners...
When I was in Kuwait (2005/06) I met a Navy lieutenant commander with a Polish last name, about 15 letters long. I asked how it was pronounced, and he said it. I lost lost track after the third syllable, and I said, "Ski, yea, got it!" He laughed and said that was what most people called him. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, talked about having unusual names for a few minutes, and went on with our day.
My last name has been mispronounced (FYI, it's Parisian French) for my entire life. I once had it butchered by the announcer at the Superdome in New Orleans when I commanded the Army ROTC Color Guard at a Saints game. And my vagina was never in pain (I'm rephrasing it to be decent) over that. Grow up children, if someone mispronounces your name, politely correct them. If you accidentally mispronounce theirs, don't take offense when they correct you. Otherwise, go back to your safe space and leave the world to the adults.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Real country music for the end of the week...
A man contemplating his escape from his loneliness, the whiskey. Not the first man to use booze to cover other things, won't be the last.
Country recently has become, in far too many cases, pop music with pickup trucks and cowboy boots. This ain't that crap.
Hope your Thanksgiving was great, have a great weekend.
Country recently has become, in far too many cases, pop music with pickup trucks and cowboy boots. This ain't that crap.
Hope your Thanksgiving was great, have a great weekend.
Officer Down
Conservation Officer Shannon Lee "Opie" BarronRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Red Lake Nation Conservation Department, Tribal Police
End of Watch Sunday, July 7, 2019
Age 48
Tour 19 years
Badge 32
Conservation Officer Opie Barron suffered a fatal heart attack while investigating an illegal harvesting call off of Highway 89 north of Red Lake.
He and other officers had just cleared from the call when he radioed dispatch requesting EMS for himself. The other officers returned and immediately began performing life-saving measures. He was transported to Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Barron had served with the Red Lake Nation Conservation Department for 19 years. He is survived by his wife, two children, and aunt who raised him.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Officer Down
Deputy Sheriff Nicolas Blane DixonRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Hall County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch Sunday, July 7, 2019
Age 28
Tour 3 years
Badge P90
Deputy Sheriff Nicolas Dixon was shot and killed following a vehicle pursuit of a stolen vehicle at approximately 11:15 pm.
The vehicle was believed to have been connected to several burglaries and car break-ins over the previous days. A vehicle pursuit started when deputies attempted to stop it. Multiple suspects then fled on foot after the car crashed. Deputy Dixon pursued one of the suspects and exchanged shots with him in the 600 block of Highland Avenue.
Deputy Dixon was fatally shot during the exchange and the suspect was seriously wounded. A second suspect was apprehended approximately eight hours later and the two remaining suspects were apprehended the following day. One of the men who was taken into custody was charged with murder.
Deputy Dixon had served with the Hall County Sheriff's Office for three years. He is survived by his wife, two sons, parents, two brothers, and grandparents.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Officer Down
Deputy Sheriff Omar DiazRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch Saturday, July 6, 2019
Age 39
Tour 10 years
Deputy Sheriff Omar Diaz died after collapsing at the scene of a stabbing call in the 7500 block of Stone Pine Lane.
He and other deputies had responded to the scene where a woman had been stabbed several times. Deputy Diaz was securing the crime scene with police line tape when he collapsed. He was transported to a local hospital where he passed away a short time later.
Deputy Diaz had served with the Harris County Sheriff's Office for 10 years. He is survived by his wife and young daughter.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
"We win. They loose."
To borrow Ronald Reagan's great plan for detente.
One of the many disasters of the Obama years was the Iran Nuke, aka the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). When you give them 150 billion first, then implement restrictions on their WMD programs, that alone is a debacle. But to give the Iranians 24 days notice of inspection, that is beyond ludicrous.
Thank God Mrs. Bill Clinton did not make it into the White House, and our current president took us out of this unconstitutional abomination, and imposed sanctions that are doing what is necessary. And when Foreign Policy magazine is saying it is hurting the Iranians, you know it's bad.
It's somewhat amusing to me that "progressives" (better called "regressives," what they want has never worked, will never work) will "Boycott, Divest, and Sanction" (BCS) the only democracy in the Middle East, but they are very supportive (relatively) of the Iranian regime. The left was overjoyed when Obama gave his greatest asset in dealing with the Iranians away for only their word. A solemn vow that's worth less than, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor..." Then again, they are not liberal (in the classical sense), but militant fascists, and anti-Semites to boot.
One of the many opportunities Obama missed was the Green Revolution in Iran, back in 2009. The population, a majority of which does not have memory of the Shah, is tired of living in a 3rd world hell hole, especially when then can see how much better the rest of the world (Hell, the Middle East) is living now. That din't stop him for sticking his nose and ears into Egypt, Libya or Syria, stilling up multiple disasters and leaving a major mess for his successor to handle. Hopefully the Iranian people will handle the mullahs and we can replaced the Islamic "republic" with a more stable regime.
One of the many disasters of the Obama years was the Iran Nuke, aka the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). When you give them 150 billion first, then implement restrictions on their WMD programs, that alone is a debacle. But to give the Iranians 24 days notice of inspection, that is beyond ludicrous.
Thank God Mrs. Bill Clinton did not make it into the White House, and our current president took us out of this unconstitutional abomination, and imposed sanctions that are doing what is necessary. And when Foreign Policy magazine is saying it is hurting the Iranians, you know it's bad.
Iran Protests Suggest Trump Sanctions Are Inflicting Serious Pain
The regime has survived uprisings in the past. But now it is starting to kill demonstrators in great numbers.
View of Tehran shops that were destroyed after nationwide demonstrations broke out in protest of fuel price hikes and led to widespread destruction of property, on Nov. 20. ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The deadly drama playing out in Iran since last Friday, leaving more than 100 protesters dead, shows three things. Tehran is increasingly in desperate economic straits, in part because of intense U.S. sanctions; Iranian popular discontent with the regime’s economic mismanagement seems to have reached a breaking point; and the regime is more frightened of popular unrest than at any time in recent years.
The latest explosion of popular protest in Iran began on Friday after the government rescinded fuel subsidies, which essentially tripled the price of gasoline—a painful blow to millions of ordinary Iranians already struggling to survive a debased currency, high unemployment, and a shrinking economy. But the demonstrations that began over fuel subsidies quickly became a sweeping, nationwide protest against the Iranian regime itself, with outbreaks in dozens of cities in every Iranian province, targeting especially government buildings such as police stations and state-owned banks.
The government’s response has been much more brutal than in previous outbreaks of protest, such as in 2017-2018, including a near-total shutdown of the internet and unrestrained use of violence by security forces. Groups including Amnesty International have documented at least 106 deaths during the protests, as regime security forces have used live ammunition to target demonstrators. The brutal crackdown is both evidence of the regime’s desperation at its own inability to sway popular opinion and a result of watching weeks of similar deadly protests (also directed against Iran) in Iraq and Lebanon.
“Fundamentally, it is an economic protest. But clearly, among some protesters, there is the opportunity to make broader complaints about the government,” said Henry Rome, an Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group.
The fuel price reform, which effectively raised the price of gasoline and diesel for most drivers from about 8 cents a liter to about 25 cents a liter, is meant to save the government a few hundred million dollars over the course of a year, as well as husbanding increasingly scarce supplies of motor fuel, which can be exported for greater earnings than essentially giving it away domestically. The government hoped that its plan to redistribute most of the revenue from the price hike back to low-income families would blunt the pain of the measure, but delays in getting cash back into people’s hands left the protests still simmering through Tuesday.
The fact that Iran would risk sparking such widespread anger for minimal economic gain underscores the dire condition of the Iranian economy, hammered by U.S. sanctions in its inability to export practically any oil, one of the main sources of revenue for the government.
“They did the reform because they are broke,” said Alireza Nader, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “People can’t afford a 300 percent increase in gas prices, but the regime didn’t have any other choice....”
...Another problem is that many people simply didn’t believe the government would follow through on the cash transfers. Yet another is that they worried that higher gas prices would just trickle down to higher prices for all sorts of other consumer goods, at a time when annual inflation in Iran is officially at least 40 percent and perhaps as much as five times higher.
Though Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, have blamed foreign countries and especially the United States for organizing the uprising, the U.S. role is—as far as is publicly known—mostly indirect, rather than actively supporting opposition groups. Since U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s economy, including the ban on oil sales, Iran’s economy has been in a free fall. Because of the increased pinch from sanctions, the International Monetary Fund recently revised downward its expectations for Iran’s economy: It now expects it to shrink by almost 10 percent this year.
But the protests, like those that also swept the country in 2017-2018, are about more than just U.S.-inflicted pain. Many Iranians are irate at rampant corruption and economic mismanagement, constants in the 40 years since Iran’s revolution.
“The underlying grievances were there without the maximum pressure campaign, but it’s the fiscal strain that the government is under which has forced it to take these steps, which has brought those grievances to the fore,” Rome said. And once people are in the street, narrow protests can snowball.
“Once there is an avenue open for protest, the dam is burst,” he said...
It's somewhat amusing to me that "progressives" (better called "regressives," what they want has never worked, will never work) will "Boycott, Divest, and Sanction" (BCS) the only democracy in the Middle East, but they are very supportive (relatively) of the Iranian regime. The left was overjoyed when Obama gave his greatest asset in dealing with the Iranians away for only their word. A solemn vow that's worth less than, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor..." Then again, they are not liberal (in the classical sense), but militant fascists, and anti-Semites to boot.
One of the many opportunities Obama missed was the Green Revolution in Iran, back in 2009. The population, a majority of which does not have memory of the Shah, is tired of living in a 3rd world hell hole, especially when then can see how much better the rest of the world (Hell, the Middle East) is living now. That din't stop him for sticking his nose and ears into Egypt, Libya or Syria, stilling up multiple disasters and leaving a major mess for his successor to handle. Hopefully the Iranian people will handle the mullahs and we can replaced the Islamic "republic" with a more stable regime.
Friday, November 22, 2019
It was actually Ann Street....
But it will always be Main Street to me.
A few months back I posted on how Bob Seger has Turned the Page, he visited Houston as part of his final tour. One of his classics, Main Street, was about watching a dancer in a club, just waiting for her to watch here come on past. Young and fantasizing, hoping against hope to meet a woman you are, or think you are, in love with.
One fact I've learned in over fifty years on the Earth, no man loves but one woman in his lifetime. And Seger writes a great look at how a young man attempts to capture love, or at the very least, engage in it. Well put in one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek-TOS, Requiem For Methuselah .. As Spock and McCoy discuss two men fighting over a woman they are in love with, McCoy puts it well to his non-feeling Vulcan friend:
I'm getting too philosphical as the week ends. Heading to New Orleans for the wedding of a friend. Have a great weekend!
From the final tour of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Main Street, performed January 21, 2019, in Columbus Ohio.
A few months back I posted on how Bob Seger has Turned the Page, he visited Houston as part of his final tour. One of his classics, Main Street, was about watching a dancer in a club, just waiting for her to watch here come on past. Young and fantasizing, hoping against hope to meet a woman you are, or think you are, in love with.
One fact I've learned in over fifty years on the Earth, no man loves but one woman in his lifetime. And Seger writes a great look at how a young man attempts to capture love, or at the very least, engage in it. Well put in one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek-TOS, Requiem For Methuselah .. As Spock and McCoy discuss two men fighting over a woman they are in love with, McCoy puts it well to his non-feeling Vulcan friend:
...You wouldn't understand that, would you, Spock? You see, I feel sorrier for you than I do for him because you'll never know the things that love can drive a man to. The ecstasies, the miseries, the broken rules, the desperate chances, the glorious failures, the glorious victories. All of these things you'll never know simply because the word love isn't written into your book. Goodnight, Spock..
I'm getting too philosphical as the week ends. Heading to New Orleans for the wedding of a friend. Have a great weekend!
From the final tour of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Main Street, performed January 21, 2019, in Columbus Ohio.
Officer Down
Police Officer John Ralph Anderson, IVRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Metro Nashville Police Department, Tennessee
End of Watch Thursday, July 4, 2019
Age 28
Tour 4 years
Police Officer John Anderson was killed in a vehicle crash at the intersection of Woodland Street and Interstate Drive.
The vehicle that struck him had just fled from other officers who attempted to make a traffic stop on it. The officer terminated the stop when the vehicle fled and did not pursue it. Officer Anderson was en route to assist on an unrelated call involving a pedestrian on the interstate when the fleeing vehicle ran a red light and struck his patrol car.
Officer Anderson's patrol car became engulfed in flames. The passenger in the fleeing vehicle suffered life-threatening injuries. The juvenile driver of the vehicle suffered minor injuries and was charged with vehicular homicide.
Officer Anderson was a U.S Marine Corps Reserve veteran and had served with the Metro Nashville Police Department for four years and was assigned to the Central Precinct.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Officer Down
Deputy Jailer Michaela Elizabeth SmithRest in Peace Sis…We Got The Watch
Murray County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Age 26
Tour 6 months
Badge 97
Deputy Jailer Michaela Smith succumbed to injuries sustained during defensive tactics training in Whitfield County.
Deputy Jailer Smith was completing her jailer certification requirements which involved defensive tactics and being pepper sprayed. She suffered a strike to the head during the defensive tactics training. She returned home following the pepper-spraying practical and then went to the hospital when she began to show symptoms of a head injury. She was treated and released but readmitted to the hospital in the morning when her condition worsened.
She became unresponsive after returning to the hospital and she passed away on July 3rd, 2019.
Deputy Jailer Smith had served with the Murray County Sheriff's Office for only six months. She is survived by her parents.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
K9 Down
K9 AssuanRest in Peace Assuan…till our next roll call at the Rainbow Bridge!
Marion Police Department, Indiana
End of Watch Thursday, June 27, 2019
Breed Belgian Malinois
Gender Male
Age 7
K9 Assuan died as the result of injuries sustained during a criminal apprehension training exercise at the Marion Police Athletic Club facility at 555 East Morton Street.
He failed to negotiate a fence jump at high speed and struck his head on the fence's top rail. He immediately became unresponsive as a result of the injury. His handler transported him to a local veterinary hospital where he died without regaining consciousness.
K9 Assuan had served with the Marion Police Department for five years.
In Memory of all Police Dogs
They handled themselves with beauty & grace
And who could ever forget that beautiful face
Whether at work; or at home; whatever the test
They always worked hard; and did their best
They were real champions; at work or at play
But their lives were cut short; suddenly one day
While working on the job with their partner one day
They put themselves out on a limb; out into harms way
They gave the ultimate sacrifice; any dog can give
They gave up their life; so someone could live
The best of their breed; as his partner and anyone would say
Many hearts are now broken; that he had to prove it this way
Now as the trees are blowing in the gentle breeze
The sun is shining; thru the leaves on the trees
The meadows are green; and the grass grows tall
Off in the distance they can see a waterfall
As they look over the falls; down through the creek
The water flows gently; as a rabbit sneaks a peek
Far up above; in the deep blue sky
They see the birds soar high; as they fly by
They see animals playing; at the bridge by a waterfall
Chasing each other; and just having a ball
They play all day; from morning to night
There's no more rain; just warm sunlight
Off in the distance; they hear trumpets blow
Then all the animals look up; and notice a bright glow
The harps would play and the angels would sing
As they know they've come home; they've earned their wings
We remember that they died; in the line of duty
And are now with the Lord; sharing in heaven's beauty
Off to the meadows now; where they can play and roam free
With an occasional rest stop; under a tall oak tree
No more bad guys to chase; or bullets to take
Just a run through the meadow; down to the lake
A quick splash in the water; then back to the shore
Then it's off to the forest; to go play some more
These special dogs are back home; up in heaven above
They're cradled in God's arm's; and covered with His love
We'll light a candle for all of them; in the dark of night
In loving memory of all; these very special knights
By John Quealy
I must be an intellectual masochist..I read the New York Times.
Sunday I was reading the Houston Chronicle and on the front page, below the fold, was a propaganda piece from Pravda on the Hudson on how Federal Express, a multi-billion dollar corporation, had not paid any taxes in 2018, after the Trump tax cuts in 2017.
Now, they are challenging a company founded by a legendary businessman, Fred Smith. It says enough of the man that both Bill Clinton and George W Bush wanted him as Secretary of Defense. And a Yale professor did not agree with the concept of flying time sensitive packages overnight would be a good business model (As an aside, people wonder why I despise confusing education and intelligence). But Mr. Smith, not a man to back down from being lied about, responded to this slander:
Something to remember about the New York Times, they say something, especially on political issues, the planning assumption is it is a bold faced lie. Hyperbold? This is the rag that pushed "Russian collusion," Ukrianin quid pro quo, etc for years. But for some reason the multiple scandals of the Obama years are not covered (IRS, Fast and Furious, etc) It's a leftist propaganda source, but unlike the Nation or MSNBC, they won't admit what they are. Every time I read it (full disclosure, I do subscribe to the digital edition, and get it often from the other sources I read) I recall the wisdom of a cartoon from the 1980s. First block shows a Moscow factory worker reading this morning's edition of Pravda. The second block shows a Harvard professor reading the same edition of the paper. "The difference? The guy in Moscow knows he getting lied to."
But another point, and I don't know if Mr. Smith is a registered Democrat or Republican, it shows what you must do in today's propaganda filled media. You get hit, you strike back, three times as hard. Too many Republicans (especially the Never Trumpers/RINOs) would just stand their and take it. Mr. Smith is not, thank God. Rags like the New York Times need to be called out, challenged, and held to account.
Mr. Smith, I really doubt you will get your debate, Pinch is a coward. But thank you for showing people how it's done.
How FedEx Cut Its Tax Bill to $0
By Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis and Ben CasselmanPublished Nov. 17, 2019
WASHINGTON — In the 2017 fiscal year, FedEx owed more than $1.5 billion in taxes. The next year, it owed nothing. What changed was the Trump administration’s tax cut — for which the company had lobbied hard.
The public face of its lobbying effort, which included a tax proposal of its own, was FedEx’s founder and chief executive, Frederick Smith, who repeatedly took to the airwaves to champion the power of tax cuts. “If you make the United States a better place to invest, there is no question in my mind that we would see a renaissance of capital investment,” he said on an August 2017 radio show hosted by Larry Kudlow, who is now chairman of the National Economic Council.
Four months later, President Trump signed into law the $1.5 trillion tax cut that became his signature legislative achievement. FedEx reaped big savings, bringing its effective tax rate from 34 percent in fiscal year 2017 to less than zero in fiscal year 2018, meaning that, overall, the government technically owed it money. But it did not increase investment in new equipment and other assets in the fiscal year that followed, as Mr. Smith said businesses like his would.
Nearly two years after the tax law passed, the windfall to corporations like FedEx is becoming clear. A New York Times analysis of data compiled by Capital IQ shows no statistically meaningful relationship between the size of the tax cut that companies and industries received and the investments they made. If anything, the companies that received the biggest tax cuts increased their capital investment by less, on average, than companies that got smaller cuts...
Now, they are challenging a company founded by a legendary businessman, Fred Smith. It says enough of the man that both Bill Clinton and George W Bush wanted him as Secretary of Defense. And a Yale professor did not agree with the concept of flying time sensitive packages overnight would be a good business model (As an aside, people wonder why I despise confusing education and intelligence). But Mr. Smith, not a man to back down from being lied about, responded to this slander:
The New York Times published a distorted and factually incorrect story on the front page of the Sunday, November 17 edition concerning FedEx and our billions of dollars of tax payments and billions of dollars of investments in the U.S. economy. Pertinent to this outrageous distortion of the truth is the fact that unlike FedEx, the New York Times paid zero federal income tax in 2017 on earnings of $111 million, and only $30 million in 2018 – 18% of their pretax book income. Also in 2018 the New York Times cut their capital investments nearly in half to $57 million, which equates to a rounding error when compared to the $6 billion of capital that FedEx invested in the U.S. economy during that same year.
I hereby challenge A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times and the business section editor to a public debate in Washington, DC with me and the FedEx corporate vice president of tax. The focus of the debate should be federal tax policy and the relative societal benefits of business investments and the enormous intended benefits to the United States economy, especially lower and middle class wage earners.
I look forward to promptly hearing from Mr. Sulzberger and scheduling this open event to bring further public awareness of the facts related to these important issues.
Something to remember about the New York Times, they say something, especially on political issues, the planning assumption is it is a bold faced lie. Hyperbold? This is the rag that pushed "Russian collusion," Ukrianin quid pro quo, etc for years. But for some reason the multiple scandals of the Obama years are not covered (IRS, Fast and Furious, etc) It's a leftist propaganda source, but unlike the Nation or MSNBC, they won't admit what they are. Every time I read it (full disclosure, I do subscribe to the digital edition, and get it often from the other sources I read) I recall the wisdom of a cartoon from the 1980s. First block shows a Moscow factory worker reading this morning's edition of Pravda. The second block shows a Harvard professor reading the same edition of the paper. "The difference? The guy in Moscow knows he getting lied to."
But another point, and I don't know if Mr. Smith is a registered Democrat or Republican, it shows what you must do in today's propaganda filled media. You get hit, you strike back, three times as hard. Too many Republicans (especially the Never Trumpers/RINOs) would just stand their and take it. Mr. Smith is not, thank God. Rags like the New York Times need to be called out, challenged, and held to account.
Mr. Smith, I really doubt you will get your debate, Pinch is a coward. But thank you for showing people how it's done.
Monday, November 18, 2019
The only question of the Iran nuke deal, was this cluster f%^& on purpose or because of the incompetence of the Obama foreign policy?
In 2009, the Iranian regime was dealing with a very angry population, protest and other issues. And the nation was primed for assistance from us to the people. And Barrack Obama, with his Secretary of State Mrs. Bill Clinton, sent their call for help to voice mail. He wanted a "deal," not regime change.
Fast forward six years, he got the "deal," and the mullahs got 150 billion dollars in cash. I've often argued with Obamaites who scream "This money belongs to the Iranians!" Yes, you are right, it belongs to the Iranian people. That is not who that incompetent moron gave it to, but the mullahs who seized the nation in 1979. And they did not use it to upgrade the lives of the Iranians, but to fund insurgency throughout the Middle East, and work on their WMD program (You really didn't think the Iran nuke deal would slow that down).
Well, the mullahs are showing how well they can handle the economy. Hopefully this again revs up the insurgency, and unlike 2009, we have a president that actually is interested in ending the terrorist Iranian regime.
I have no doubt President Trump is directing his national security staff to help this Green Revolution. He can remember the wisdom of Ronald Reagan and his view of handing the Cold War, "We win, they lose."
Fast forward six years, he got the "deal," and the mullahs got 150 billion dollars in cash. I've often argued with Obamaites who scream "This money belongs to the Iranians!" Yes, you are right, it belongs to the Iranian people. That is not who that incompetent moron gave it to, but the mullahs who seized the nation in 1979. And they did not use it to upgrade the lives of the Iranians, but to fund insurgency throughout the Middle East, and work on their WMD program (You really didn't think the Iran nuke deal would slow that down).
Well, the mullahs are showing how well they can handle the economy. Hopefully this again revs up the insurgency, and unlike 2009, we have a president that actually is interested in ending the terrorist Iranian regime.
Uprisings Against the Mullahs
Short on cash, the regime faces protests at home and in Iraq.
The latest anti-regime protests in Iran look like a major political event, and judging by its vigorous and violent response the regime agrees. Now is a moment for the political left and right in the U.S. and Europe to unite in support of the Iranian people.
The protests erupted in several cities across the country in response to government increases of 50% in fuel prices. The increase raises the price of a liter of gasoline to only about 35 cents, or 50 cents a gallon. But the reaction to the increase reveals the desperation and anger of Iranians as the economy falters under the pressure of U.S. sanctions.
With parliamentary elections scheduled for February, the regime would only have reduced its fuel subsidies if it felt it had no choice. The mullahs must be short on cash as their oil sales abroad have been sharply reduced by Trump Administration sanctions. Oil sales are the regime’s main source of revenue.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini publicly supported the price increases on Sunday and called protesters “thugs.” The government shut down internet access across most of the country, which makes it difficult to assess the extent of the protests. But the reports and videos that have emerged show clashes that sometimes turned violent. Mr. Khameini also blamed loyalists of the former Shah, who was deposed 40 years ago.
The truth is that this turmoil is made in Tehran by the mullahs themselves. They could have used the financial windfall they received from the 2015 nuclear deal to invest in their own country. Instead they used those resources to spread revolution throughout the Middle East. They’ve continued to plow cash into developing ballistic missiles and arming Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Syria, and Shiite militias in nearby Iraq.
Iran’s heavy-handed meddling has also inspired a backlash in Iraq. Protesters have chanted anti-Persian slogans and demonstrated against Shiite sites in Karbala and other holy cities. Most Iraqis are Shiites but they are also nationalists and resent Iran’s political interference that includes direction to militias by Qasem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force that is Iran’s vanguard abroad.
...Above all, the world should speak up in support of Iranian aspirations to become a normal country, instead of a theocracy that spreads revolution and terror. Barack Obama made an historic blunder when he stayed mute amid the Iranian regime’s bloody crackdown on democratic protests in 2009. President Trump should not make the same mistake.
I have no doubt President Trump is directing his national security staff to help this Green Revolution. He can remember the wisdom of Ronald Reagan and his view of handing the Cold War, "We win, they lose."
Officer Down
Deputy Sheriff Carlos A. RamirezRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
Kendall County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Age 32
Tour 3 years
Deputy Sheriff Carlos Ramirez was struck and killed by a vehicle while he and another deputy were conducting a traffic stop on I-10 near mile marker 533 at 7:30 am.
Another vehicle struck Deputy Ramirez and the other deputy before striking the vehicle that had been stopped. Deputy Ramirez succumbed to his injuries while the other deputy was seriously injured.
Deputy Ramirez was a U.S. Army Reserve veteran and had served with the Kendall County Sheriff's Office for three years. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
God I miss this man more and more as the years go on...
Reagan was the first candidate I voted for in 1984, and I was always proud of that. Over the years I've gone between elections where I voted "for" a canidate (George HW Bush 88, GW Bush 00) to against the opposition (McCain 00, Trump 16). But I've always been proud of this, a nineteen year old being able to vote. God bless America! I remember when I found out he had passed, and for the first of many times, unashamedly wept in my patrol vehicle.
Last week I was the 30th Anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall, and these words still stir today:
I was looking on YouTube and found an interview, Tom Brokaw with the outgoing president, on my 24th birthday of all days. Really interesting, and he mentions how, even in 1989, how college students were ignorant of who's side Hilter was on in World War II (20.00), and the lack of civics in "modern" culture (19:00). Good lord he would be shocked today with the idiots who have grown up hating the country and society that has made them a fortune. He does mention he would campaign to eliminate the two term limit on the president. I will respectfully disagree, if anything, it must be put on the Congress and a form of it on the judges, but another issue for another day.
RIP President Reagan. God we need you now.
Last week I was the 30th Anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall, and these words still stir today:
I was looking on YouTube and found an interview, Tom Brokaw with the outgoing president, on my 24th birthday of all days. Really interesting, and he mentions how, even in 1989, how college students were ignorant of who's side Hilter was on in World War II (20.00), and the lack of civics in "modern" culture (19:00). Good lord he would be shocked today with the idiots who have grown up hating the country and society that has made them a fortune. He does mention he would campaign to eliminate the two term limit on the president. I will respectfully disagree, if anything, it must be put on the Congress and a form of it on the judges, but another issue for another day.
RIP President Reagan. God we need you now.
Saying no to a ticket quota....
Something I would say was very justified
I've been accused, when I've run radar enforcement zones (aka a speed trap) of just doing this so the government can make money. Hate to disagree, no. I generally run radar in schools zones, so the locals are very supportive, they want someone slowing people down with the kids walking around. But I've had people complain, "You're just trying to make a quota..." etc. Sometimes, when I've had a really rough day, I respond, "Ya, three more tickets and I get a free toaster..."
But this, if an accurate report, is wrong. Sorry city council, traffic enforcement is a legitimate part of patrol. However, don't rely on it for government funding.
I often argue with people of police stereotypes, but in this case, the exception proves the rule, and it's not good. Ridgetop, you police force is there to enforce the law and protect and serve the people, not act as revenuers. Remember that.
I've been accused, when I've run radar enforcement zones (aka a speed trap) of just doing this so the government can make money. Hate to disagree, no. I generally run radar in schools zones, so the locals are very supportive, they want someone slowing people down with the kids walking around. But I've had people complain, "You're just trying to make a quota..." etc. Sometimes, when I've had a really rough day, I respond, "Ya, three more tickets and I get a free toaster..."
But this, if an accurate report, is wrong. Sorry city council, traffic enforcement is a legitimate part of patrol. However, don't rely on it for government funding.
A Tennessee Police Department's Last Officer Resigns Over Ticket Quotas
Ridgetop no longer has any police officers after recordings captured city officials demanding that the department write 210 citations a month.
Ridgetop Police Chief Bryan Morris submitted his resignation on Friday. The Tennessee city is now without a police force and it's all due to a disagreement over illegal ticket quotas.
In January, FOX 17 released explosive reports that implicated Ridgetop Mayor Tony Reasoner and Vice Mayor McCaw Johnson in a scheme to generate revenue for the city of just over 2,000 by directing the police department as a whole to write a minimum of 210 tickets each month. The officers pushed back and finally took it upon themselves to secretly record Reasoner and Johnson. The recordings were then handed over to FOX 17.
In the recordings, Reasoner and Johnson talk about repayments to the city after the police payroll was $54,000 higher than the revenue from citations. The pair hoped that if the police wrote more tickets, it would generate new revenue that would fund the entire police payroll.
Section 39-16-516 of the Tennessee criminal code bars politicians and state agencies from disciplining a police officer solely based on the officer's ability to meet a ticket quota. The Ridgetop officers have argued that Reasoner and Johnson violated this law by demanding to see bi-weekly ticket reports from each officer. In one of the recordings, Johnson even attempted to leverage a raise for two officers and the rehire of another to encourage officers to meet the quota.
"Law enforcement is not about tickets. It's about trying to cut down on crime. That is a local government taking advantage of its people. That's not what we are here for," Officer Shawn Taylor, who captured the secret recordings on Chief Morris' behalf, declared at the time.
When asked by FOX 17 if he knew that ticket quotas were illegal, Reasoner replied, "Yes, we do. We know." McCaw, after denying that he demanded the quota, added that he was merely interested in "revenue stream."
The fight between the city officials and the police came to a head in June when officials voted to disband the department. After Robertson County Judge Bill Goodman blocked the city's decision, the police department was scaled down from five officers to one—Morris...
I often argue with people of police stereotypes, but in this case, the exception proves the rule, and it's not good. Ridgetop, you police force is there to enforce the law and protect and serve the people, not act as revenuers. Remember that.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Don't fear the weekend.....
And we don't need more cowbells!
Never knew this song had an "official" video, but so be it. Great song, great act, and a bit of a dark way to end the week.
Have a great weekend.
Never knew this song had an "official" video, but so be it. Great song, great act, and a bit of a dark way to end the week.
Have a great weekend.
Officer Down
Detective Luis AlvarezRest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch
New York City Police Department, New York
End of Watch Saturday, June 29, 2019
Age 53
Tour 20 years
Badge 1361
Cause 9/11 related illness
Incident Date Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Detective Luis Alvarez died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Detective Alvarez was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the NYPD for 20 years. He is survived by his wife, three sons, parents, and three siblings.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, seventy-two officers from a total of eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed when terrorist hijackers working for the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden, crashed four hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
After the impact of the first plane into the World Trade Center's North Tower, putting the safety of others before their own, law enforcement officers along with fire and EMS personnel, rushed to the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to aid the victims and lead them to safety. Due to their quick actions, it is estimated that over 25,000 people were saved.
As the evacuation continued, the South Tower unexpectedly collapsed as a result of the intense fire caused by the impact. The North Tower collapsed a short time later. Seventy-one law enforcement officers, 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and over 2,800 civilians were killed at the World Trade Center site.
A third hijacked plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania when the passengers attempted to re-take control of the plane. One law enforcement officer, who was a passenger on the plane, was killed in that crash.
The fourth hijacked plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing almost 200 military and civilian personnel. No law enforcement officers were killed at the Pentagon on 9/11.
The terrorist attacks resulted in the declaration of war against the Taliban regime, the illegal rulers of Afghanistan, and the al Qaeda terrorist network which also was based in Afghanistan.
On September 9th, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed on September 11th, 2001, were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.
The contamination in the air at the World Trade Center site caused many rescue personnel to become extremely ill and eventually led to the death of several rescue workers.
On May 1st, 2011 members of the United States military conducted a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden.
Please click here to visit the memorials of all of the law enforcement officers killed in this terrorist attack.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
K9 Down
K9 MaxRest in Peace Max…till our next roll call at the Rainbow Bridge!
Portsmouth Police Department, New Hampshire
End of Watch Thursday, May 23, 2019
Breed German Shepherd
Gender Male
Age 6
K9 Max suffered fatal injuries during a training exercise in Rollinsford, New Hampshire, on May 22nd, 2019.
His handler was conducting obedience training with Max and allowing him to run off lead. Max was running full speed and mistimed a jump over a wooden structure while attempting to get his ball. He suffered severe internal injuries as a result of colliding with the structure.
K9 Max was transported to a local veterinary hospital where his conditioned deteriorated. The following day it was determined that the best course of treatment was to be humanely euthanized.
K9 Max had served with the Portsmouth Police Department for five years.
In Memory of all Police Dogs
They handled themselves with beauty & grace
And who could ever forget that beautiful face
Whether at work; or at home; whatever the test
They always worked hard; and did their best
They were real champions; at work or at play
But their lives were cut short; suddenly one day
While working on the job with their partner one day
They put themselves out on a limb; out into harms way
They gave the ultimate sacrifice; any dog can give
They gave up their life; so someone could live
The best of their breed; as his partner and anyone would say
Many hearts are now broken; that he had to prove it this way
Now as the trees are blowing in the gentle breeze
The sun is shining; thru the leaves on the trees
The meadows are green; and the grass grows tall
Off in the distance they can see a waterfall
As they look over the falls; down through the creek
The water flows gently; as a rabbit sneaks a peek
Far up above; in the deep blue sky
They see the birds soar high; as they fly by
They see animals playing; at the bridge by a waterfall
Chasing each other; and just having a ball
They play all day; from morning to night
There's no more rain; just warm sunlight
Off in the distance; they hear trumpets blow
Then all the animals look up; and notice a bright glow
The harps would play and the angels would sing
As they know they've come home; they've earned their wings
We remember that they died; in the line of duty
And are now with the Lord; sharing in heaven's beauty
Off to the meadows now; where they can play and roam free
With an occasional rest stop; under a tall oak tree
No more bad guys to chase; or bullets to take
Just a run through the meadow; down to the lake
A quick splash in the water; then back to the shore
Then it's off to the forest; to go play some more
These special dogs are back home; up in heaven above
They're cradled in God's arm's; and covered with His love
We'll light a candle for all of them; in the dark of night
In loving memory of all; these very special knights
By John Quealy
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Officer Down
Detective Andrea Renee Jacqueline RainerRest in Peace Sis…We Got The Watch
New York City Police Department, New York
End of Watch Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Detective Andrea Rainer died as the result of cancer that she developed following her assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Detective Rainer had served with the NYPD for 19 years. She is survived by her six siblings.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, seventy-two officers from a total of eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed when terrorist hijackers working for the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden, crashed four hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
After the impact of the first plane into the World Trade Center's North Tower, putting the safety of others before their own, law enforcement officers along with fire and EMS personnel, rushed to the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to aid the victims and lead them to safety. Due to their quick actions, it is estimated that over 25,000 people were saved.
As the evacuation continued, the South Tower unexpectedly collapsed as a result of the intense fire caused by the impact. The North Tower collapsed a short time later. Seventy-one law enforcement officers, 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and over 2,800 civilians were killed at the World Trade Center site.
A third hijacked plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania when the passengers attempted to re-take control of the plane. One law enforcement officer, who was a passenger on the plane, was killed in that crash.
The fourth hijacked plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing almost 200 military and civilian personnel. No law enforcement officers were killed at the Pentagon on 9/11.
The terrorist attacks resulted in the declaration of war against the Taliban regime, the illegal rulers of Afghanistan, and the al Qaeda terrorist network which also was based in Afghanistan.
On September 9th, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed on September 11th, 2001, were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.
The contamination in the air at the World Trade Center site caused many rescue personnel to become extremely ill and eventually led to the death of several rescue workers.
On May 1st, 2011 members of the United States military conducted a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden.
Nemo me impune lacessit
Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.
What's going on in the World Today 191111
HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:
USA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
AFRICA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ASIA
India Opts Out of the Chinese-Backed RCEP Deal -- For Now
The Big Picture
Rising protectionist sentiment in the United States is driving Asia's largest economies to forge their own trading pact that would cover a third of the world economy. India's concerns over granting China wider access to its market, however, have continued to serve as the main sticking point in negotiations.
What Happened
After seven years of talks, the push to finalize the world's largest free trade zone has been delayed by at least several months. On Nov. 4, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Bangkok, alluding to long-standing concerns over China's widening trade surplus with India and demands for enhanced market access for Indian exporters. Thailand has since highlighted a "commitment" by all ASEAN member nations to now sign the RCEP agreement with their six free trade partners (India, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand) by sometime next year...
EUROPE
Swiss police target Islamist extremists in raids across the country
Swiss police carried out raids in several regions of the country Tuesday targeting people suspected of ties to Islamist extremists, prosecutors said. Around 100 police officers took part in the raids in the cantons of Zurich, Bern and Schaffhausen, conducting a total of 11 house searches, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said in a statement. The operation targeted 11 individuals, including five juveniles who will face proceedings headed by a special office for juvenile prosecutions, the statement said...
Anti-police violence surges in the tough suburbs of Paris
…Violence on Saturday night in Chanteloup-les-Vignes and recent flare-ups in other tough neighborhoods west of Paris have not matched the intensity or destructiveness of the unrest that spread to hundreds of towns in 2005. But French authorities are alarmed because the violence appears pre-planned, with ambushes deliberately set to target police. Police union officials suspect that rival gangs from different tough neighborhoods are competing for bragging rights in their attacks and are reveling in the media coverage they’re generating, even egging each other on in social media.
LATIN/SOUTH AMERICA
In Chile, Protests Show No Signs of Dying Down
With Chile's protests poised to enter their fifth week, the prospects for a timely and tidy resolution are dim. Already, the sustained demonstrations in Santiago and other cities have led to at least 20 deaths, cost the economy an estimated $1.5 billion and forced the government to cancel the mid-November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the last minute. Following the spread of demonstrations into Santiago's wealthier neighborhoods earlier this week, President Sebastian Pinera unveiled a carrot-and-stick approach on Nov. 7: While announcing plans to enhance the government's ability to monitor and punish violent protesters, he also heralded the beginning of "citizen dialogues" next week...
AFGHANISTAN
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
CHINA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
IRAN
Iran Spins More Centrifuges On US Embassy Crisis Anniversary
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Monday broke further away from its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by announcing it’s doubling the number of advanced centrifuges it operates, calling the decision a direct result of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement.
The announcement — which also included Iran saying it now has a prototype centrifuge that works 50 times faster than those allowed under the deal — came as demonstrators across the country marked the 40th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover that started a 444-day hostage crisis.
By starting up these advanced centrifuges, Iran further cuts into the one year that experts estimate Tehran would need to have enough material for building a nuclear weapon — if it chose to pursue one. Iran long has insisted its program is for peaceful purposes, though Western fears about its work led to the 2015 agreement that saw Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Tehran has gone from producing some 450 grams (1 pound) of low-enriched uranium a day to 5 kilograms (11 pounds), said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Salehi dramatically pushed a button on a keyboard to start a chain of 30 IR-6 centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, where he was being filmed, increasing the number of working centrifuges to 60.
“With the grace of God, I start the gas injection,” the U.S.-trained scientist said.
The nuclear deal limited Iran to using only 5,060 first-generation IR-1 centrifuges to enrich uranium by rapidly spinning uranium hexafluoride gas. Salehi also announced that scientists were working on a prototype he called the IR-9, which worked 50-times faster than the IR-1.
As of now, Iran is enriching uranium to 4.5%, in violation of the accord’s limit of 3.67%. Enriched uranium at the 3.67% level is enough for peaceful pursuits but is far below weapons-grade levels of 90%. At the 4.5% level, it is enough to help power Iran’s Bushehr reactor, the country’s only nuclear power plant...
Iran moves further from nuclear deal, alarming Russia, France
Iran has stepped up work at its underground Fordow nuclear facility, state TV reported on Wednesday, a move France said showed for the first time that Tehran explicitly planned to quit a deal with world powers that curbed its atomic work. Russia also voiced alarm at Iran’s decision to start injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at Fordow, a move that further distances Iran from the accord. A central aim of the agreement was to extend the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon, if it chose to, to a year from about 2-3 months...
Iran’s Imperial Overreach
By Ali Alfoneh for The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
From Iraq to Lebanon, Iran's hard-won empire is ablaze. As anti-government protests spread like wildfire threatening the Islamic Republic's allies and proxies, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is facing a dilemma: Should Iran, itself subjected to severe U.S. economic sanctions, use its scarce resources to stabilize allies and proxies in the region and thereby risk worse conditions and social unrest within Iran, or leave them to their own devices and risk a fight with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on whose support Khamenei's survival depends?
Statements made by commanders of the IRGC show their preference for supporting their allies and proxies, and Khamenei's first comments on the subject indicate he is inclined to align himself with the IRGC. He also appears to be redefining the role of Iran's regular military to adapt to the changed threat environment but perhaps also aiming to reduce the dependence of his regime on the IRGC. Regardless of Khamenei's efforts, he may be facing Iran's moment of imperial overreach, one which propels the Islamic Republic toward economic collapse...
Iran: Tehran Inaugurates New IR-6 Centrifuges
What Happened: Iran has inaugurated an experimental chain of 30 advanced IR-6 centrifuges that can enrich uranium roughly ten times faster than more traditional IR-1 centrifuges, according to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, the Mehr News Agency reported Nov. 4.
Why It Matters: The inauguration of the new centrifuges illustrates Iran's intention to shore up the capabilities of its nuclear program without blatant violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. The measure is part of Iran's efforts to retaliate against increasing U.S. sanctions pressure, while building up leverage for potential future negotiations. President Hassan Rouhani might also announce further steps on Iran's nuclear program later this week.
Background: Salehi's comments came on the 40th anniversary of the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, a symbolic date that the Iranian government has timed to previous announcements. This week also marks the end of the latest 60-day deadline for European countries to extend economic relief to Iran in exchange for Tehran's decision to abide by the JCPOA.
IRAQ
Iraq: Ongoing Protests Begin to Disrupt Oil Sector Operations
What Happened: Protests in Iraq have forced the state-owned North Oil Company to shut in the small Qayara oil field after blockades in the governorate of Basra prevented tanker trucks from delivering crude to ports, Iraqi Oil Report reported Nov. 6. Separately, protesters have blocked the entrance to the Nasiriyah oil refinery and prevented tanker trucks from transporting refined oil products throughout the province.
Why It Matters: The two incidents highlight the potential for disruptions to Iraq's energy sector from ongoing protests as the government has struggled to quell unrest in major cities across the country. Although the protests have not yet forced Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign, security forces are responding to the demonstrations in an increasingly violent fashion, raising the risk of further escalation.
Background: Protesters have succeeded in blocking roads to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr on several occasions, almost completely halting the vital port's operation for a week. So far, the disruptions at Umm Qasr have cost the country around $6 billion, according to Iraqi officials.
ISRAEL
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
KOREAN PENINSULA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
RUSSIA
Russia's Arctic Dreams Remain on Ice
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Despite the Kremlin's encouragement, state-owned oil and gas enterprises are likely to remain hesitant to commit resources to the costly development of Arctic assets.
- Moscow will try to reduce the financial burden of building Arctic infrastructure, but its proclivity to offer incentives on a case-by-case basis will hamper rapid development.
- In the end, the output from the Arctic could fall short of government targets to ensure sustained oil production levels and overall economic growth...
Russia Sends Ten Subs Into North Atlantic In Drill Unprecedented In Size Since Cold War
The most extensive Russian underwater exercise since the end of the Cold War is currently underway in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. No less than 10 Russian Navy submarines are reported to be involved, eight of which are nuclear powered, according to Norwegian intelligence. The massive exercise is thought to include tests of new weapons and stressing of capabilities of individual classes of submarines involved, including long-duration, deeply submerged operations. The exercise is also likely to test U.S. and NATO forces' ability to track Russia's most capable boats as they push through the Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom Gap, better known as the GIUK Gap—a major strategic bottleneck that is closely monitor...
Navy officer, wife, 2 others charged in China inflatable boat smuggling conspiracy
A U.S. Navy officer, his wife and two Chinese nationals have been charged with conspiring to unlawfully smuggle military-style inflatable boats to China, the Justice Department announced Friday…. [They] were charged with "conspiring to submit false export information and to fraudulently attempt to export articles from the United States," …. Fan Yang was assigned to the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Weapons School (MPRWS) at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and held a top-secret security clearance….\
Russia Steps Up Efforts to Shield Hackers From Extradition to U.S.
… For months, Moscow has pursued what current and former U.S. law-enforcement and diplomatic officials describe as part of a stepped-up and evolving campaign to prevent Russians arrested on criminal hacking charges from being extradited to the U.S. Russia has relied on a variety of techniques—whether leveraging the legal system or resorting to more coercive means, such as bribery—to pressure other countries to impede U.S. extradition efforts, current and former U.S. officials said. “Russia uses every tool at its disposal, including these more coercive steps” to prevent its citizens arrested abroad on hacking charges from being extradited…. “It can sometimes seem like a throwback to the Soviet era in terms of the tactics they are using.”
MIDDLE EAST GENERAL
Yemeni rebels claim they shot down a US-made drone
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels shot down a U.S.-made drone Friday along the border with Saudi Arabia, according to a statement by the group's spokesman. The Shiite rebels, who overran Yemen's northern parts and the capital Sanaa in 2014, have been fighting a Saudi-led and U.S.-backed military coalition since 2015. In recent months, they have shot down at least two American drones...
Middle East: U.S.-Led Maritime Security Mission Begins Operations
What Happened: The International Maritime Security Construct (ISMC), a U.S.-led coalition to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, officially started operations this week, Bloomberg reported Nov. 7.
Why It Matters: The United States formed the ISMC in response to attacks this summer against oil tankers, including nine instances in which Iran or its proxy forces assaulted tankers. The United States and the United Kingdom have since increased their security patrols in the region, but they have failed to form a broad coalition for the ISMC, as only seven countries agreed to join.
Background: Although there haven't been any attacks against tankers off the Iranian coast since July, the risk to commercial shipping and energy infrastructure in the region remains high due to increasing U.S. sanctions pressure against Tehran.
Facing Sanctions, Turkey's Defense Industry Goes to Plan B
HIGHLIGHTS
- Turkey is facing significant arms embargoes from its Western partners as a result of its military incursion into northeastern Syria.
- But while Ankara's increasingly acrimonious relationship with the West will hurt the Turkish defense sector, it will not cripple it.
- In the main, Turkey will weather the storm because it is better placed to rely on its growing domestic defense industry for its military needs and because it will search for alternative defense partners...
CYBER ISSUES
North Korean Malicious Cyber Activity
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense (DoD) have identified a Trojan malware variant—referred to as HOPLIGHT—used by the North Korean government. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as HIDDEN COBRA. CISA encourages users and administrators to review Malware Analysis Reports MAR10135536-8 and the page on HIDDEN COBRA - North Korean Malicious Cyber Activity for more information.
INTEL GENERAL
An Era of Unparalleled Espionage Risk Is Upon Us
Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor
HIGHLIGHTS
- China and Russia have become increasingly aggressive in their industrial espionage efforts, though the proliferation of espionage tools ensures they are far from the only threat actors.
- Technology has also made it easier to hack into corporate systems remotely and to download massive quantities of data from inside an organization.
- Combined with the spread of post-truth attitudes in the workplace, these factors create an environment rife with corporate espionage risk.
TERRORISM
Eliminating the Cartel That Killed 9 Americans in Mexico Will Not Be Easy
HIGHLIGHTS
- Gunmen killed nine Americans passing through the area of La Mora, which is in eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua.
- Heavy fighting between forces loyal to the Sinaloa cartel (Gente Nueva) and remnants of the Juarez cartel (La Linea) has racked that region.
- The criminal groups operating in the mountains of this region are firmly entrenched, and it will take a significant counterinsurgency effort to root them out.
MISC
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
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