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

Author: Hondo

  • Russia’s Military Gets “Frisky”, Part 4

    Well, it looks like Russia’s military is flexing it’s muscles again. Or maybe Vladimir Putin just decided he wanted to flip off the POTUS again.

    Damn. I should know better than to write something like the previous paragraph.  It’s redundant as hell, isn’t it? (smile)

    Anyway: it appears that for the second time in about 2 weeks, a Russian SU-27 has “barrel-rolled” a US recon aircraft operating in international airspace.

    This time, though, the Russian jet “only” came within 100′ of the US aircraft. During the last barrel-roll incident, the Russian aircraft’s closest approach to ours was approximately 50′.

    OK, Mr. President. Vlad has given you the finger with both hands yet again, then immediately afterwards mooned you. But he’s apparently “branching out” a bit now. One of his aides must have suggested he insult you in German. This time I’m pretty sure he yelled “Deine Mutter arbeitet auf Vierzig Deutsche Mark-Straße, Arschloch!” as he was mooning you.

    Oh, and did I mention that it appears increasingly probable that Syrian-Russian operations to recapture the city of Aleppo – currently held by Syrian rebels – now appear imminent? That is, if they haven’t already begun?

    Your move, Mr. President. Time to get your “he-man war hero” SECSTATE working on another “strongly-worded diplomatic statement” or two.

    Or maybe you could simply ask him if you could borrow Terresa’s cojones .  Maybe if you did that you could start acting, well, Presidential.

  • More Ineffectual “Sabre-Rattling” by Lil’ Kim

    Well, the results of the Dork of NorK’ s latest episode of sabre-rattling have been released.  And it again looks like the “man” is probably going to need to have a public execution or two to soothe his injured feelings.

    Three days ago, Emmentaler-boi’s missile minions conducted two tests of the Musudan – North Korea’s new IRBM, likely the “big guy’s” second favorite missile after the one that’s his namesake (more about that later).  Intelligence reports regarding these tests have now been made public.

    The results?  Both missiles apparently blew up shortly after launch..

    Oopsie.

    This makes the number of successful Musudan by Lil’ Kim’s missile program precisely zero.  I’m sure that’s not exactly what the “big guy” wanted to hear.

    Further:  results from recent testing of ND:tBF’s favorite (and namesake) missile, the No Dong, haven’t been much better.  One test of the Scud-C-derived No Dong held last month was similarly unsuccessful, with that missile also exploding after launch.  (A  second No Dong test last month was apparently successful.)

    That’s 1 for 5 for the last 5 major NorK missile tests.  My guess is that this means there will be some significant opportunities for “upward mobility” within the NorK missile program in the near-term future.

    No word yet on how Fatboy Kim will calm his massive bulk after these latest two rather spectacular failures.  While a public execution or several is probably a given, the method to be used is anyone’s guess.  But it’s a good bet it will be gruesome and novel.

    And he can always down a few more kilograms of Emmentaler to make himself feel better.  What does he care if it means a few of his peasant comrades will have to starve for weeks in order to come up with the funds to import same?

  • “It’s the High Taxes and Over-Regulation, Stupid.”

    Well, new figures for US economic growth are out.  And it turns out last quarter was not a good one.

    The US economy’s annualized real growth rate for the first quarter of this year?  Try a whopping 0.5%.  Yes, that’s a ZERO to the left of the decimal point.  And yes, that’s the annualized growth rate.

    That’s the slowest quarterly annualized real growth rate we’ve seen for the US economy in 2 years.

    The US economic real growth rate was so low last quarter, it was nearly 30% less than expected.  And it was only expected, based on midpoint projections, to be 0.7% – which is itself abysmally bad.  It also marked the third straight year with a p!ss-poor beginning, economic-growth wise.

    This follows on the heels of a rather anemic fourth quarter of last year.  During that quarter, in real terms the US economy grew at a “massive” 1.4% annualized rate.

    It seems a cinch to say that we won’t see 3% real growth this year overall.  So far, the current       gang of economic idiots screwing things up by-the-numbers in DC      Administration has yet to see a single year with US real economic growth at or above an annual rate of 3%.  That makes the Obama Administration the first US Presidential Administration in history to fail to deliver even a single year of 3% growth.  In fact, if the economic growth rate for this year doesn’t reach 2.67% (kinda doubtful at this point IMO), the Obama Administration will be the fourth-worst  Administration in US history, economically speaking.

    If current projections hold, the 8 year average for US economic growth under this      gaggle of economically naïve tools      Administration will be around 1.55% – if they’re lucky.  If the economy doesn’t improve dramatically with respect to last quarter during the rest of this year, they won’t even see that.

    When the US economy doesn’t grow, well, thinks kinda suck for everyone.  For comparison, during the Reagan Administration, the 8 year AVERAGE for real economic growth was 3.5% per year.  Gee – ya think maybe that had something to do with why it’s perceived as “good times”, economically speaking?

    Predictably, the POTUS doesn’t appear to have a clue why the economy is growing so slowly, and keeps touting “low unemployment”.  Well, Mr. President, let me provide you a clue or two – free.

    Here’s yer first clue.  The unemployment rate is dropping for two reasons.  First, it’s dropping because people who want to work are becoming discouraged and ceasing to look for work.  And second, your inane policies regarding social welfare programs have removed many consequences for doing so.  Here’s one example:  you still haven’t reinstated Clintoon’s work requirements for SNAP (AKA food stamps) eligibility since you suspended them in 2009.

    When a recovery begins, the economy starts consistently growing again at a strong rate – typically a real annual growth rate of 3% or higher.  When that happens, people will start looking for work again – which means the unemployment rate will spike.  And the labor participation rate, a much better overall measure of economic health than unemployment, will start to rise consistently.

    Right now, we’re still in Carter Administration territory on the latter.  And since we haven’t seen a spike in unemployment yet, any claims that we’re “in an economic recovery” today . . . are bullsh!t.

    Now, for the second clue.  Regarding why the economy isn’t growing – see the title of this article.  Have someone explain it to you if you don’t “get it”.

    Sheesh.  I will be so damn glad to see someone with a freaking clue about the economy running the show in DC.  At least Slick Willie seemed to know his butt from a hole in the ground there.

  • Army Retains SFC Martland

    Army Retains SFC Martland

    Martland

    Jonn and I have written previously about SFC Charles Martland and the attempt by the Army to separate him for “assaulting” a child-rapist in Afghanistan.  The earlier articles can be found here, here, here, and here.

    According to Fox News, the Army yesterday changed its mind. They have now opted to retain SFC Martland vice discharging him.

    Sometimes sanity reigns – even inside that 5-sided asylum near the Open Air Brothel on the Potomac – and the good guys win one.  IMO this is such a case.

    Congratulations, SFC Martland.  Kudos to Rep. Duncan Hunter (and others) for publicly supporting him.

    And while SFC Martland never should have been considered for discharge in the first place, kudos also to the Army for finally seeing the light and doing the right thing here.

  • “And the Hits Just Keep On Coming” . . . for the VA

    We all know that the VA has serious problems.  But this appears to be a new – and disgusting – issue that hasn’t previously surfaced.   Maybe you want to wait until well after lunch before reading the linked story from Fox.

    Whistleblower: Cockroaches served in food
    at Chicago-area VA hospital

    In this case, the “whistleblower” is one Ms. Germaine Clarno – president of the facility’s AFGE Local.

    If the name “Germaine Clarno” seems familiar, it should.  Jonn’s written about her before.

    In case you’re forgotten: Clarno is the same “whistleblower” that refused to discuss other issues involving patient care with Republican Members of Congress from Illinois after her preferred Democratic officials did squat when she brought those issues to their attention.  Clarno herself admits that the issues were serious enough that people died needlessly.

    Then again, when you’re willing to play politics when lives are literally at stake I guess you’re willing to do the same when the food is substandard or vermin-infested. And I’m guessing Clarno’s known about the food issue for a while, too – she says, “It’s been like this for years, ever since anyone can remember.”

    The linked Fox article’s worth reading; so is the article Fox in turn links from Conservative Review, which gives more details.  But as I said earlier:  maybe you should wait an hour or so after having lunch to read either.

    Sad.  As well as infuriating – and absolutely inexcusable.

  • Be Careful What You Ask For . . .

    . . . you just might get it.

    House committee votes to require women to register for draft

    About damn time. This should have been law years ago.

    No, this doesn’t mean that women should be drafted into the combat arms. Just because someone gets drafted doesn’t automatically mean they end up Infantry (or in one of the other combat arms branches).

    The military should still assign specialties based on known physical norms and needs of the service. If a given group in general cannot meet the qualifications of a specific specialty, they can – and should – be excluded from assignment to that specialty. It’s the same rationale that generally excludes those requiring corrective lenses (or not meeting other seemingly-irrelevant physical requirements) from flight school: the impact of such a physical shortcoming is deemed significant enough to preclude such an assignment to members of that group, even though certain individuals within that group may well make excellent pilots. The courts have recognized the military’s need to do this; the fact that gender may be such a factor for a select few specialties is irrelevant.

    However, if passed this will correct a significant injustice. If passed, both males and females will now be subject to draft registration requirements – and, if a draft is required, to being drafted.

    Enjoy, SJWs. You’re largely responsible for this.

  • “We have sent many operatives to Europe with the refugees.”

    The Washington Post today has an excellent and informative article – if also a somewhat disturbing one. It documents in some detail how four Da’esh operatives passed themselves off as “refugees” and used that ruse to infiltrate Europe.

    On a crisp morning last October, 198 migrants arrived on the Greek island of Leros, all of them seemingly desperate people seeking sanctuary in Europe. But hiding among them were four men with a very different agenda.

    The four were posing as war-weary Syrians — all carrying doctored passports with false identities. And they were on a deadly mission for the Islamic State.

    Two of the four would masquerade as migrants all the way to Paris. There, at 9:20 p.m. on Nov. 13, they would detonate suicide vests near the Stade de France sports complex, fulfilling their part in the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

    The other two Da’esh operatives were detained in Greece for lying about their identities. However, after a time they were released and allowed to continue their journey. They were later arrested in Austria – thankfully, before they could commit a terrorist attack. God only knows what other actions they took to support terrorism in the interim.

    The article goes on to provide more info about the issue of Da’esh using the “refugee” flood as cover for infiltration. That info paints a rather disturbing picture.

    Think about that for a moment. In one group of less than 200 “refugees”, 4 of them – or over 2% – were decidedly not “refugees” at all. Rather, they were radical Islamist operatives intent on committing terrorist atrocities in a foreign land. They were merely using the ruse of being “refugees” as cover for their infiltration in order to avoid more thorough screening.

    Over a million “refugees” from the Middle East have entered Europe recently. European intelligence agencies believe several hundred thousand of them may never have been adequately screened on entry.

    If even 1% of those unscreened “refugees” are instead terrorist operatives, that’s 1,000 terrorists for every 100,000 alleged “refugees” who entered. And based on an admittedly small sample, there’s evidence that the actual rate may well be more than double that.

    Da’esh brags that they have many more such “sleeper” operatives in Europe now. Indeed, this article’s title is a quote from a Da’esh commander discussing the subject.

    So far, only a bit more than three dozen of those Da’esh operatives infiltrated as “refugees” have been identified and apprehended in Europe. And of those, seven of them participated in the Paris attacks last year.

    And yet, the      gaggle of naive fools and clueless tools running the show in DC      current Administration wants to admit tens of thousands of “refugees” to the US, too. But don’t worry – the Administration assures us that any such “refugees” admitted will be screened “thoroughly”.

    Yeah, right. In reality, if admitted they won’t be screened anywhere near as thoroughly as the foreign born spouse of the couple responsible for San Bernardino. And we know how that turned out.

  • US Navy Fires Another Skipper

    After an investigation, the Navy recently relieved LCDR Jeremiah Daley of command of the USS Typhoon.  The USS Typhoon is a Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship; the Navy maintains 10 ships of this class in the Persian Gulf based at Manama, Bahrain.   The USS Typhoon is one of them.

    LCDR Daley apparently was relieved for reasons other than the seemingly-standard “loss of confidence”.  A lengthy Navy investigation report indicates he was removed from command for “poor performance as a commanding officer and his multiple lapses of personal integrity.”  The report indicates he neglected maintenance of shipboard systems to the point of endangering his crew; was observed drunk and disorderly in public; drank in front of his crew; made “suspected false statements” to superiors; and may have attempted to impede an investigatio into his conduct.

    Predictably, LCDR Daley is challenging the report, claiming that a “good number of things are 100 percent not true”.  Unless he’s got 17 or 18 years of active duty service already, however, I’d guess his time would be best spent these days wordsmithing his resume.  I’m thinking he’s going to need it soon.

    Fox News has an article giving more details.  It’s IMO worthwhile  – if somewhat depressing – reading.