This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • In the Good News Department . . . .

    French authorities have confirmed the death of al-Qaeda-linked North African warlord Abou Zeid.  He had been previously reported as “probably killed” pending the outcome of DNA testing.

    DNA testing says forget the “probably”.  It was him.

    Abou Zeid was a key figure in southern branch of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).  He was instrumental in the take-over of northern Mali, and was responsible for the executions of at least two foreign hostages.  He was also reportedly a committed and disciplined radical, and was close to the AQIM overall leader, Abdelmalek Droukdel.

    Zeid had a long history of terrorist violence.  He had been fighting in various radical Islamist movements for over 20 years.

    He’s no longer fighting.

    It’s nice to be able to use the past tense in referring to such terrorist bastards.  May all of his “72 virgins” look like either Helen Thomas or Perez Hilton – with personality to match.

  • Better Late Than Never

    A 3 1/2 year old injustice has finally been corrected.  Unfortunately, another apparent injustice still remains.

    The Army has announced that SFC Kenneth Westbrook will receive the Silver Star – unfortunately, posthumously.  It will be awarded to his next-of-kin sometime this spring.

    SFC Westbrook was WIA during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009.  He died of complications from his wounds a month later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  He was on his last deployment prior to retirement.

    For those who may have forgotten:  this the same action for which Sgt. Dakota Meyer, USMC, was later awarded the MoH.  The battle also resulted in the award of 2 Navy Crosses and the award of at least 9 BSMs w/V device.

    RIP, SFC Westbrook.  This old soldier salutes you.

    SFC Westbrook had been recommended for the Silver Star by CPT William Swenson.  Why the award was not approved earlier was not made public.

    And speaking of CPT Swenson . . . .

    There is still no update on the status of CPT Swenson’s MOH recommendation relating to the Battle of Ganjgal.  The Army reportedly recommended approval some time ago.  One account indicates the recommendation was forwarded to the White House sometime in July of last year.

    I guess we’ll have to simply keep waiting.  But eight months does seem to me to be more than enough time to make a decision.

  • Friday Afternoon Funny

    Both videos are short.  First is probably NSFW or children.  Enjoy.

     

     

     

    Guess we now know why the old song said “Tie Me Kangaroo Down”.  (smile)

  • I Think I Finally “Get It”!

    Why the Navy seems so odd to everyone else, that is.

    It’s simple.  They think and look at the world differently.

    Here’s an example.  In any sane world, room 5D22 generally is next to (or maybe across the hall from) room 5D23.

    On a ship – or in a building laid out by a Navy contractor – it’s often completely on the other side of the ship or building.  That’s called the “even/odd rule”.

    Also, decks above the main deck are levels, not decks – even though they’re decks.  Decks including and below the main deck – those are decks.  And the main deck may or may not be big one that’s open to the air (it’s not on a carrier).  And so on.

    Once you realize that, why the Navy seems “different” to everyone else all starts to kinda make sense.

    You nautical types are kinda weird, but we love you anyway. (smile)

  • A Big Company Gets One Right

    You see large companies do stupid things all the time – things that make no sense, and which alienate the public.  And I have to say I’m not a particular fan of Delta Airlines based on some experiences I’ve had with them.

    But once in a while, a big company does manage to “get it right” when they didn’t really have to.  And recently, IMO Delta did exactly that.

    A Delta flight was recently delayed in Knoxville.  It was delayed for 3 hours.

    The local manager decided to comply with FAA regulations to feed passengers in such a situation in a rather unusual manner.  He arranged for 60 Pizza Hut pizzas to be delivered to the plane.

    The pizzas were delivered directly to the plane.  On the tarmac.  With a police escort.

    Needless to say, this went over quite well.  The only “complaint” was no beer to go with them (I’m guessing FAA regs prohibit serving alcohol until the plane is in flight).

    Kudos, Delta.  One of your people certainly got one right.

  • A Hassan Update

    Well, it looks like Hassan ploy to avoid the needle by pleading is a NO-GO.  (Yeah, I know – he’s still technically a member of the military.  I don’t care.  I refuse to give that treacherous asshole the honor of using a military title with his name.)  The judge didn’t take the bait.

    Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter, recently offered to plead guilty to noncapital murder.   However, the military judge in the case, COL Tara Osborn, refused to accept his plea.  He’ll be tried for capital murder, with the death penalty in play.

    IMO, COL Olson made the correct decision.  The UCMJ prohibits pleading guilty to a capital crime.  While theoretically his trial on capital murder charges could have proceeded after a guilty plea to noncapital murder, that might possibly also have given Nidal an avenue for appeal.  In that scenario Hassan would have pleaded guilty to a lesser included crime, then later been convicted for the original crime for which he was charged.  You never know beforehand how the Court of Military Appeals or the SCOTUS might view such a situation.

    The possibility for the plea influencing one or more panel members was also likely a consideration. Death penalty sentences under the UCMJ must be unanimous.  The defense was obviously hoping that a guilty plea to lesser charges, if accepted, would be considered as “acceptance of responsibility” (yeah, right) during sentencing deliberations.

    COL Osborn is also weighing whether to allow the testimony of an terrorism expert.  Defense attorneys predictably oppose this, claiming it would be “prejudicial”.

    The wheels of justice indeed turn slowly.  But as I’m guessing Hassan is going to find out, they also grind exceedingly fine.

    Keep thinking about those “72 virgins”, Nidal.  Hopefully you’ll be seeing them soon.  And to help you better appreciate what’s in store for you, here’s your own personalized preview (WARNING:  image may be disturbing to full stomachs):

    (more…)

  • Charles Rangel: Not Just Ethically-Challenged Any More

    We all know about Congressman Charles Rangel’s recent ethical troubles – even if his constituents apparently don’t, or know and don’t care.  But apparently he’s somewhat “challenged” in other ways, too.

    Here’s what Rangel had to say yesterday:

    We’re talking about millions of kids dying — being shot down by assault weapons, were talking about handguns easier in the inner cities, to get these guns in the inner cities, than to get computers. This is not just a political issue, it’s a moral issue and so when we condemn the NRA we should not ignore the fact that a lot of people that have taken moral positions have been solid on this big one.

    Uh, Mr. Congressman – millions of kids being shot down by assault weapons?  Really?  Oh hell no.  You’re out of your freaking mind.

    There were less than 8,600 (8,583) US firearms homicides in 2011 – total.  At that pace, it would take over 116 1/2  years to get 1,000,000 total firearms homicides.  Further:  less than 4% of them (323) were committed with rifles of any type – let alone “assault weapons”.   So you’re talking over three millenia to get 1,000,000 killed by rifles of any type.

    And do I really need to remind you that not all rifles are “assault weapons”, Congressman Rangel?  I thought anyone with 3 or more working brain cells realized that.

    What a moron.  And yet the voters of his deep-blue, mostly Manhattan district keep returning him to Congress.

  • “The Tree Is Safe, Your Excellency”

    This is . . . sad.  Just sad.

    The POTUS arrived in Israel yesterday for his first state visit to that nation.  He and the Israeli President, Shimon Peres, planted a US magnolia tree as part of the arrival ceremony.

    Accounts vary on what happened later.  According to Israeli accounts, the tree was dug up later that day.  A White House spokesman denied this, saying that the tree’s roots were “wrapped in plastic mesh”.  My guess is that both are correct – e.g., the tree was unearthed, then plastic-wrapped and put back in place.

    Why?  Well, it seems any plants brought from abroad require a check by the Israeli Agricultural Ministry before they can be planted in Israel.  And it also appears that the POTUS’s staff was made aware of that fact beforehand by officials in the Israeli government, but elected not to send the tree ahead of time to allow inspection.

    I’m not joking.  See the entry for 19:54 yesterday in the article.

    I mean, really.  For crying out loud:  the state where the POTUS grew up (Hawaii) has some pretty strict quarantine requirements.  The US has pretty stiff restrictions on foreign plants and agricultural products entering the US, too.  So figuring out that import restrictions on plants might exist in other countries shouldn’t exactly be rocket science.

    (sigh)  First they don’t plan ahead regarding the POTUS’s food “taster” at a recent Capitol Hill luncheon. Here, they didn’t bother perform the due diligence necessary to prevent a major international faux pas (or simply didn’t care).  Suppose the Israelis had told the POTUS at the ceremony, “Um, no . . . you can’t plant that; it goes to quarantine first”?

    What’s next?  Are they going to forget to tell British authorities ahead of time that they’re coming and just show up at Buckingham Palace’s front door one evening expecting to see the Queen?

    It also looks like someone forgot what kind of fuel the POTUS’s limo uses during his latest trip, too.

    Our nation deserves better than this.  It’s one thing to look foolish at home.  This time, we’re looking foolish in front of the whole world.