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

Author: Hondo

  • What Will ND:tBF Think of Next?

    Well, Emmentaler aficionado and pettty tyrant Fatboy Kim* – AKA “ND:tBF” and the “Dork of NorK”– is at it again. He’s got a Brand New Idea that will enhance the lives of his people.

    His Brand New Idea is – establish a New Time Zone!!!!

    That’s right, folks. As of next week, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will return to the Korean time zone of 1908 – offset by one-half hour from its current time.  Currently, both Koreas use the same time zone as Japan.

    South Korea tried that from 1954-1961. But they found no real benefit, so they went back to the same time zone as Japan uses.  They’re not changing next week.

    But ND:tBF will make this work out for the DPRK.  It will undoubtedly dramatically improve the daily lives of his people!  All hail the Glorious Leader!!!!

     

     

    *Author’s Note: in case anyone was wondering about the nickname “Fatboy Kim” for ND:tBF, that’s because it’s rather descriptive – and it’s also my theory that this must be that freaking narcissist’s favorite song.

     

    I’m guessing no one has yet pointed out to the Dork of NorK that the song wasn’t written to paean him – though thousands if not millions would truly love to do the latter.  Maybe that’s because they want to keep breathing.

  • Score One for NASA

    NASA has been busy.  And this time, “They done good”.

    What am I talking about, you ask?  Well, here ya go:

     

    A higher-resolution image may be viewed here.

    In case you don’t recognize at first glance what’s shown above, perhaps this might help.

     

    This article has further details. It’s a relatively short article, and the animated sequence alone found there IMO is worth the time it takes to read the article.

    Well done, NASA.  Damn well done.

  • About That Recent “Gunfire” Near Camp Shelby

    Well, there was another possible shooting incident near Camp Shelby yesterday. Same MO: maroon truck, single occupant observed near the perimeter of the installation when apparent shots were heard.

    This time the authorities have a suspect in custody. The individual in custody is Alfred Baria, age 61.

    After his apprehension Baria claimed he had “made his truck backfire” as he drove near the installation.  He further claimed he can make his truck “backfire on command”.

    The police obtained search warrants for Baria’s house and vehicle. When they searched his vehicle, no weapons were found – but in his vehicle Baria had what appeared to be a pipe bomb (PVC pipe, 6” to 7” long, capped, and painted OD green). It was later determined to be fake.

    No shell casings were found near the scene or in Baria’s vehicle. It’s unclear whether Baria (or anyone else) actually fired any shots at troops on Camp Shelby.

    Authorities stated that Baria doesn’t seem to have any ties to terrorist organizations. He also doesn’t have any known “headspace and timing” issues.

    Perhaps Baria was merely playing a not-so-funny practical joke.  Or maybe he’s a dipstick and attention whore who just had to attract attention to himself.  In any case, however, his plan kinda backfired on him. (Yes, the pun is intentional. And given his claim that he can make his truck “backfire on command”, IMO it’s apropos. [smile])

    You see, it seems Baria also has a felony record – apparently for past drug crimes. And when they searched his house authorities seem to have found weapons.

    Baria is now facing charges of four counts of “disturbance of the peace of a person”. He’s also facing two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm due to his felony record.

    What a dumbcluck.

  • Just When You Think You’ve Heard It All . . .

    . . . you see something that makes you realize you definitely haven’t.

    Wanna take a guess at what the current POTUS is blaming his predecessor for now?  If you guessed “for Iran’s nuclear program becoming a serious issue” – well, give yourself a cigar.  According to the POTUS’s latest speech, the Iranian nuclear program apparently only became a concern because of US operations against Iraq starting in 2003.

    Of course, despite the statements in his latest speech that the Iranian possession of a nuclear warhead poses a “danger”, apparently the current POTUS feels that the Iranian nuclear program really poses only a negligible threat to the USA.  I say that because he’s reportedly OKed a deal that appears to leave the Iranian nuclear program essentially intact and unchanged, and only asks the Iranians to give up something amounting to the combination of “Jack” and “Squat”.

    For such agreements we all know that often the “devil is in the details”.  And I’d sure like to read that proposed agreement for myself to see what he’s signed the USA up to do – and what Iran’s agreeing to do as well.  But I guess we’ll have to “pass it to see what’s in it”.   The POTUS won’t make the contents of that proposed agreement do public.

    Seems to me we’ve had to do something like that  – e.g., “pass it to see what’s in it” – at least once before.  I guess keeping the details of the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran under wraps must just be some more of that “most transparent Administration in history” stuff the POTUS keeps touting.

    Sheesh, and GMAFB.  Did he really keep a straight face while spouting that BS?

    The Iranians are still referring to the USA the “Great Satan”.  They still preach “Death to America”.  They are pursuing a nuclear program for one reason, and one reason only:  to acquire a bomb.  Once they do, they’ll use it – either against US interests, or against Israel (who they’ve repeatedly vowed to destroy).  Or they’ll supply it to some international terrorist group who will do the same on their behalf.

    This regime running things today in DC really should start calling itself something like “Clueless Convergence.”

    Of course, after this last claim that just might be an insult to clueless fools everywhere.

     

  • Seventy Years

    Seventy years ago – on 6 August 1945 at roughly 08:15:45 AM Japanese Standard Time, which converts to 7:15:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time the previous day – the Japanese city of Hiroshima ceased to exist.  On 9 August 1945, the Japanese city of Nagasaki followed suit.

    Less than a week afterwards, the Emperor of Japan publicly announced his acceptance of Allied surrender terms.

    I’ve written about the US nuclear missions against Japan previously.  I have no reason to change what I said then.  Read the original article if you like; it can be found here.

    But I’ll again say this much: if you’re so inclined, perhaps take a moment to say a prayer for the souls of those who died that day at Hiroshima, and for those who died three days later at Nagasaki.  And while you’re at it, maybe add a second prayer – that we never again have the need to use such weapons.

  • Thoughts on the WaPo-Graham Brouhaha

    Jonn recently wrote an article about Senator Lindsey Graham’s military service, and how the WaPo was questioning same.

    Ever since, there seems to have be a bit of confusion about Senator Lindsey Graham’s military career. In particular, his service has raised a number of questions here – and has garnered a rather large amount of negative comment.

    I was curious, so I decided to research the situation. Time to kick the anthill; here are the facts.

    1.  Wikipedia – which I’ll trust in this case to be correct – says Graham graduated from law school in 1981. He received a USAF commission in 1982. He served on active duty as a USAF JAG from 1982-1989, including 4 years in Germany. He then served in the SC ANG from 1989-1995; and in the USAFR from 1995 until his retirement from the USAFR earlier this year.

    2.  Graham has been a member of Congress continuously since 1995.

    3.  DoDD 1200.07, defines the term “key employee”. Further, para E2.1.4.1, specifies that a Member of Congress is by DoD policy designated a “key employee” of the Federal government.

    4.  DoDD 1200.07 also defines the members of the Standby Reserve, as follows (para E2.1.9):

    The Standby Reserve consists of personnel who are maintaining their military affiliation without being in the Ready Reserve, but have been designated “key civilian employees,” or have a temporary hardship or disability. Those individuals are not required to perform training and are not part of the Ready Reserve. The Standby Reserve is a pool of trained individuals who may be mobilized as needed to fill manpower needs in specific skills. The Standby Reserve consists of the active status list and the inactive status list categories.

    5.  DoDI 1200.15, para 5.1.3, mandates that “key employees” who are members of the Reserve Components be transferred to the Standby Reserve.  DoD 1200.07 further specifies that such individuals will be placed on the Standby Reserve – Active Status List (SR-ASL).

    6.  DoDD 1235.09 describes organization and management of the Standby Reserve.  In particular, para 2.b. states that individuals on the SR-ASL may participate in military activities in both active duty and inactive status, but also appears to specify that any such service will be for “points only” – e.g., without pay and allowances.

    7.  Finally, 10 USC 12306 appears to allow individuals on the SR-ASL to request to serve temporarily on active duty in an imminent danger zone.  With the approval of their Service Secretary, they may receive orders to do so.

    The Standby Reserve and how it works (and what it does) is not something that’s exactly common knowledge.  I’d run across it some years ago, and remembered it existed and had something to do with key personnel. But I didn’t really know much about it (or had forgotten the pertinent details) until I looked it up again in connection with this flap.  If you’re curious about the Standby Reserve, this article from the US Army Human Resources Command gives a pretty good overview. I’m reasonably certain that all services handle their SR-ASL reasonably similarly, so it should be pertinent to any RC element.

    . . .

    So, to recap: Graham has been a member of Congress since 1995. He was an ANG officer – with 12+ years TIS, probably a Major – when he entered Congress. When he was sworn in as a Member of Congress, DoD policy allowed him to retain his commission (and transfer to the USAFR) – but required him to be placed in the Standby Reserve.

    Regardless of what you think about Congress, serving as a Member of Congress is definitely a full-time job.  (If you doubt that, find a copy of P. J. O’Rourke’s book Parliament of Whores and read the chapter where he describes a typical Member’s daily schedule – usually nonstop from 7:30AM or so until after 9PM most days, choreographed to the minute much like that of a GO.) We’d expect  someone in a senior elected position in the Federal government devote the vast majority of their time and effort to the job he/she was elected to do, so that’s as it should be.

    DoD also recognizes that being in a key Federal/state/industry position (some key positions are in industry) may preclude normal participation in Reserve duties.  DoD has also decided that allowing Reservists who also serve in one of these key positions to continue their Reserve service is in DoD’s best interests.  That’s almost certainly one reason that the Standby Reserve was created.

    Finally, Graham’s placement in the Standby Reserve wasn’t his choice – DoD told him, “Standby Reserve, or resign your commission.”  So Graham stayed in the USAFR, and played by the rules DoD dictated.

    My take is that Graham seems to have done what he could to remain as active as time permitted in the Reserve Components. I’m guessing he “dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s” with respect to getting SECAF approval for all of his time spent in military training/active duty while serving in Congress.  In fact, IMO he seems to have gone out of his way to do considerably more than was required for someone in his position.

    For what it’s worth: if the dates listed in this article are correct (hat tip to TAH commenter AZtoVA), Graham appears to have considerably more than enough service in Afghanistan to qualify for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and thus legitimately call himself an “Afghan veteran”. If those dates are correct for his military service time in Afghanistan, I counted over 100 days of nonconsecutive service in-country.  (He’s got over 30 days service in Iraq as well, albeit nonconsecutively.)  And if I’m reading the DoD regs correctly, since 1995 he did it without receiving anything but retirement points – e.g., no military pay and allowances.

    I’ve never met Senator Graham. I don’t much care for some of his positions and recent actions, either. But he in my book he served honorably in the USAFR, and appears to have done far more than he was obligated (or would be expected) to do for someone in his position. The WaPO article attacking his service was IMO nothing more than a biased political hit piece.

    And I’ll also say this: in my book, people who denigrated his service in comments here IMO owe Senator Graham an apology.

  • Regarding the (Apparently) Late Mullah Omar . . .

    The Afghan intelligence services reported earlier this week that Mullah Omar, the one-eyed terrorist bastard who formerly led the Taliban, is dead. Omar reportedly died sometime in April 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan.

    While this has not yet been publicly confirmed by US authorities, the Taliban has now appointed Omar’s successor – Omar’s deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. So while I wouldn’t necessarily bet the farm at this point that Omar is taking the eternal dirtnap, I tend to believe that the report is very likely true.

    Mullah Akhtar Mansour was reportedly not a popular choice among some Taliban factions to lead the group. I’m just heartbroken to hear that.

    There have been rumors for years that Pakistan knew of Omar’s presence in Pakistan, and may have provided him protection. That would not surprise me if it were true; it would also not surprise me if the Pakistanis were keeping him under wraps for other purposes. After all, the Taliban is essentially an ethnically Pashtun group.  Pakistan has their own troubles with Pashtun tribesmen in NW Pakistan and elsewhere that are affiliated with Taliban offshoots and who don’t particularly seem to want to stay Pakistani.

    Regardless, it looks like Omar’s very likely quite dead.  Good riddance, and may he enjoy Shaytan’s companionship in the afterlife.

  • An IRS Scandal Update

    Remember Lois Lerner? You know, that former IRS Executive who appears to have overseen the IRS’s politically-biased treatment of nonprofits – the one where conservative groups faced roadblocks while liberal ones got priority consideration?

    It’s been a while since TAH had an article about the IRS.  So here’s an update.

    I’m not going to rehash past articles here.  If you need or would like a refresher, use the site’s search features with the search string “Lerner IRS email” (no quotes necessary).  There are a number of articles, so allow some time to read them; I’d recommend a 15-30 min.

    1.  We now have a good idea of what happened to her hard drive. Yes, it indeed appears to have been destroyed – apparently on 16 April 2012.

    2.  The drive appears to have quit working between 5PM and 7PM in Lerner’s office on Saturday, 11 June 2011.  Reputedly, a forensic technician examined it prior to destruction and found scoring on the top platter, likely due to an impact.  The laptop itself showed no sign of damage.  Data recovery was not attempted at the time.

    3.  It turns out that the IRS also had another system available for internal communications – a system on which messages were NOT at the time archived, and which was known to have been available for use (and used by personnel from) by the IRS division Lerner headed.   That system was Microsoft’s Office Communications Server, or OCS – an instant messaging (chat) system.

    4.  We also nave this quite interesting email from Lerner about email and instant messaging use.  From the link in item 3 above:

    However, in an email uncovered by the Committee Lerner warns her colleagues about evading Congressional oversight:

    “I was cautioning folks about email and how we have had several occasions where Congress has asked for emails and there has been an electronic search for responsive emails – so we need to be cautious about what we say in emails.”

    Lerner then asks whether OCS is automatically archived. When informed it was not, Lerner responded “Perfect.”

    5.  Finally, documents from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, when the IRS looked for Lerner’s 24,000 “missing” emails from 2009-2011 . . . the initial search was quite obviously less than thorough and comprehensive.  Five out of six possible locations for the missing data apparently were not initially searched.

    6. Oh, and GAO says that it’s possible the IRS may still be targeting conservative nonprofit groups.

    . . .

    Yeah, it looks to me like there might just be s a damn good reason Lerner “took the Fifth” when she was subpoenaed to testify before Congress about this.  Concerning the activities described and linked above . . . well, for some reason the terms “obstruction” and “stonewall” keep coming to mind.

    But maybe that’s just me.

    That’s the latest from the “Most Transparent Administration in History.”  Wonder what’s next?