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

Category: Politics

  • When societies collapse

    Posted for your comment from BBC because I can barely understand the horror of this sort of thing.

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    Venezuela crisis: Helicopter launches attack on Supreme Court

    Venezuela’s Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a helicopter in what President Nicolás Maduro called a “terrorist attack”.

    Footage on social media shows a police helicopter circling over the city before shots and a loud bang are heard.

    The police officer said to have piloted the stolen aircraft issued a statement denouncing the “criminal government”. His whereabouts are unknown.

    It comes after mass protests against the political and economic crisis.

    The Supreme Court is regularly criticised by the Venezuelan opposition for its rulings which bolster Mr Maduro’s hold on power.

    Who flew the helicopter?

    The police officer identified himself as Oscar Pérez in video statements posted on the social media platform Instagram.

    Appearing in military fatigues and flanked by armed, masked men in uniform, he appealed to Venezuelans to oppose “tyranny”.

    Man identifying himself as Oscar Pérez makes statement

    It is generally an exercise in futility trying to predict if some new twist in Venezuela’s long-running crisis is a “turning point” for the country.

    There have been scores of seemingly decisive moments over the past few months – from the initial decision to strong-arm the national assembly, to the latest death of a teenage protester in Caracas – that quickly faded into the general malaise afflicting the oil-rich nation.

    However, the sight of an apparently disaffected member of the security forces dropping grenades on the Supreme Court and allegedly firing on government buildings is extreme, even by Venezuela’s standards.

    Whether “Oscar Pérez” is indeed part of a coalition of like-minded “military employees, policemen and civilians” or just a rogue policeman is hard to say.

    Certainly President Maduro was quick to dub the incident “a terrorist attack” and used it as a reason to “activate” the armed forces to keep the peace.

  • The Billy Bottoms saga

    The Billy Bottoms saga

    I ran across this story looking for FGS today – it’s about 27-year-old William Bottoms a career criminal in Louisiana. He’s been given several opportunities to turn his life around that he’s generally ignored. He’s currently cooling his heels under the supervision of the Baton Rouge Police Department for the alleged murder of two men; Muhammad Hussain, 29, and Dedrick Williams, 23. According to Mr Bottoms’ girlfriend, Megan Gaylord, 27, the four of them had been doing drugs when Mr Bottoms contracted a case of paranoia and killed the pair.

    Days before his arrest, Bottoms was shot by an unidentified suspect in the chest in unrelated circumstances and police took him to the hospital. After he was better, police arrested him for the double murder when they developed evidence against him. According to WAFB, Bottoms criminal history goes back more than a decade;

    At only 17-years-old, Bottoms was arrested by the Baton Rouge Police Department for armed robbery and aggravated battery.

    Just days before his 18th birthday, Bottoms took a plea deal and his charge was reduced to second-degree battery.

    A judge sentenced Bottoms to five years in prison, but then suspended the sentence and placed him on probation.

    The terms of his probation included maintaining gainful employment, random drug screening two times per month, substance abuse evaluation and treatment, and obtaining a GED. Most importantly, he was to not conduct any criminal activity.

    On November 18, 2007, Bottoms broke that final term of his probation when he was arrested by the Baker Police Department for armed robbery. After only a few months of freedom, Bottoms was back behind bars.

    For a second time, Bottoms pleaded guilty and was given a reduced sentence. On March 9, 2009, Bottoms was sentenced by Judge Richard Anderson to six years in prison.

    Bottoms served out his full sentence, according to the Louisiana Department of Corrections. He was released on full-term parole on November 18, 2013.

    Just under a year after his release, Bottoms was facing new criminal charges from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

    On October 11, 2014, Bottoms was charged with attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and three different drug charges.

    Judge Louis Daniel accepted Bottoms plea deal on May 2, 2016. He sentenced Bottoms to seven years in prison.

    During his third stay in prison, Bottoms took part in early release programs that gave him credit to allow for early release. Because of this, Bottoms was released on March 31, 2017 on good time parole.

    Had he served his full term, Bottoms would have remained in prison until October 10, 2021.

    Less than four months after his release, Bottoms was shot in the chest and deputies with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office connected him to the murders of Muhammad Hussain, 29, and Dedrick William, 23.

    I’m sure the local community won’t miss Muhammad Hussain and Dedrick William much, you know since the article also has mugshots of them before they were murdered and, the circumstances of their murder included their drug use, but still, how many times was Mr Bottoms allowed to plead out for lesser sentences and take advantage of early release programs so that he was on the street when he murdered those guys. In fact, every time he got out on the street, he screwed up again and went back to jail within a few months.

    If law enforcement is supposed to protect the innocent, why are they trading away that protection?

  • Well, Well, Well

    Remember “good old” Sen. Bernie Sanders,      Communist      Socialist       “Independent”-VT?  You know, the guy who  claims to be the champion of the “little guy” – just like most      Communists      Progressives do until they get into a position of power, and then turn elitist?

    Well, take a gander at this interesting article from Fox News.  It seems Bernie-boi and his wife are currently under investigation by the FBI concerning financial improprieties.  Specifically, there are questions concerning the accuracy of a loan application submitted by his wife while she was President of Burlington College so that the college could purchase 33 acres of land.  There are also questions regarding whether or not Bernie-boi’s office attempted to exert influence on the bank to approve the loan.  From the article:

    Jane Sanders purportedly distorted school donor levels in the loan application she filed to People’s United Bank, according to the January 2016 complaint. The liberal arts college closed that same year.

    Politico also reports that federal prosecutors could be looking into allegations that Sen. Sanders’ office tried inappropriately to get the bank to approve the loan.

    Bernie-boi has indicated that the allegations are “nonsense”.  But he’s nevertheless refusing further comments, saying that doing so would be “improper”.

    Oh, and did I mention that Bernie-boi and wifey have now “lawyered up”?  Well, yeah – they have.

    Hmm.  Sounds to me perhaps more like a case of someone thinking, “Rules are for little people, not Senators and their wives” to me – and getting caught.  But maybe that’s just me.

    I also find it . . . interesting how Bernie-boi and wifey seems to have started “feeling more heat” not long after a change in Presidential Administrations.  Couldn’t be that that Bernie-boi and wifey no longer have anyone willing to provide top cover over at DoJ, could it?

    I also have to wonder what a detailed investigation of Bernie-boi’s and wifey’s financial dealings prior to their recent purchase of their 3rd home – the one on the shore of Lake Champlain that he bought for $600k in mid-2016, a couple of months after Burlington College went under – would uncover.  I certainly would love to know where the money to buy that place came from.

    If you’re surprised about any of this, raise your hands.  Yeah, me neither.

    Freaking hypocrite.

  • Update on “Missing” Shiloh Sailor

    The Navy Times is reporting Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims, who gained notoriety by hiding in USS Shiloh’s engineering spaces while presumed overboard, has been transferred to the brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego. He’s cooling his heels in pretrial confinement, awaiting a possible Court Martial.

    He was reported missing and presumed overboard 8 June, and was discovered by shipmates a week later, after a massive 50 hour search was conducted by US Navy and JMSDF ships and aircraft.

    Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight said in an email:

    “We do not know all the details and motivations behind this Sailor’s week-long disappearance,” Knight said. “This matter remains under investigation, but early indications are that he had taken steps to avoid being found by other Sailors, who were actively attempting to locate him.”

    The investigation is ongoing and expected to conclude by late summer, he said. Investigators are interviewing sailors and reviewing records to construct an account of what happened.

    He needs a psych eval and a fair trial. And employment elsewhere.

  • Rudy Redd Victor remains recovered after 43 years

    Rudy Redd Victor remains recovered after 43 years

    One of our ninjas send us a link to the strange story of Rudy Redd Victor, an Air Force airman who leaped from his girlfriend’s car during an argument on June 15, 1974 in Montana, never to be seen again. He was on leave from the Air Force at the time. When he didn’t report back, the Air Force declared that he was deserter.

    Fast forward to two years ago. A cattle inspector found a skull in the remote Wolf Creek Canyon and took it home as a souvenir of sorts. Recently he turned it over to the coroner. Investigators searched for more evidence and found more remains and a noose made of wire in a nearby tree, leading folks to believe that Rudy hung himself;

    Friday, his sister received a letter from the Air Force saying his remains have been found and identified. Burial plans are in progress.

    […]

    The county coroner concluded Victor likely died either the day he leapt from the car or shortly after.

    The investigation determined Victor died while on leave, so he is no longer listed as absent without leave.

    Victor’s military record has been corrected to remove his deserter status.

  • Do we really need a Space Corps?

    The excellent defense reporting website Breaking Defense is reporting that the Air Force is engaged in political combat with the House Armed Services Committee, in particular the chairman of the Strategic Services Subcommittee, Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama. The cause of this fight is the brainchild, as Breaking Defense phrases it, of Rogers: an entirely new branch of the military, a U.S. Space Corps, to take responsibility for defending America in the coming battlespace out there beyond traditional air warfare altitudes.

    The Air Force is adamant that no such branch is necessary, insisting that it is quite capable of managing, as it now does, its space battle sphere to include the realm of satellites and space stations. Newly appointed Air Force secretary Heather Wilson insists that her existing branch is already heavily invested in the concept of space warfare and is quite prepared to effectively continue this mission into the future as long as Congress provides the necessary funding. Current Pentagon leadership appears to be unified in opposing this idea of an entirely new and independent service.

    Critics point out that the United States Air Force split off from the United States Army almost seventy years ago, and they still have issues as to who’s responsible for what. Space Corps supporters point out the more than 200-year-old symbiotic relationship between our Navy and the Marine Corps, two very different services under the leadership of a single service secretary, the secretary of the Navy. Following that model, Space Corps advocates would have their new service reporting to the existing Air Force secretary. I would point out that the Navy-Marine model has a major flaw: it is quite easy to determine the dividing line between ocean and land mass, whereas no sandy beaches exist in space.

    This old soldier is unconvinced that a need exists currently for such a move. If future wars should shift their focus to a space battle area, then we should take another look at a special service branch, but for now, this is an idea still a bit too futuristic. While I’m not now perfectly comfortable with our existing services’ capabilities in this battlespace, we can improve our overall strategic capability through the concept of multi-domain operations, wherein we integrate the warfighting capabilities of all our existing forces into a seamless, deadly grunt’s ground-to-space station killing machine.

    Someone should tell Congressman Rogers his rocket’s fizzling on the launch pad.

    Crossposted at American Thinker

  • Brigadier General Wayne W. Grigsby Jr.; busted for inappropriate relationship

    Brigadier General Wayne W. Grigsby Jr.; busted for inappropriate relationship

    The Washington Post reports that the Army fired the former 1st Infantry Division commander from his job as Fort Riley’s post commander, former-Major General, now-Brigadier General Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate;

    …investigators found that he had called and texted a female captain more than 850 times over 10 months and was spending time at her home, according to Army documents obtained by The Washington Post.

    Grigsby is the sixth general in the past year whom the Army has punished for sexual misconduct or improper interactions with women. Although Army leaders have been reluctant to talk publicly about the issue, the service in December appointed a three-star general to lead a review of its general-officer corps.

    Apparently, Grigsby’s marital infidelity triggered a “flurry” of reports from subordinates to the Army and his wife had been on Twitter discussing the relationship – there’s a reason they call it “social media”.

    Grigsby’s chief of staff and command sergeant major confronted him and “told him flat out that there was a very serious perception out there; ‘people are talking about it, you need to stop,’ ” according to the report.

    Others told investigators that the relationship distracted Grigsby from his unit’s upcoming deployment to Iraq. One soldier said it “was affecting careers. He did not want it to get to the point where it was affecting lives,” the report stated.

    Well, he’s flying a desk somewhere with one less star on his collar and he’s scheduled to retire in August.

    So your safety briefing will last an extra half hour this weekend, and this is why.

    Thanks to Chief Tango for the link.

  • William C. Bradford; valor thief at Energy Department

    William C. Bradford; valor thief at Energy Department

    Nearly two years ago, William Clarke Bradford wrote an article for the National Security Law Review which proposed that the military should expand it’s target list to ““law school facilities, scholars’ home offices and media outlets where they give interviews” – all civilian areas, but places where a “causal connection between the content disseminated and Islamist crimes incited” exist.” He was a teacher at the US Military Academy at the time he wrote that missive and he was dismissed soon after that thing was published.

    Ten years before, according to the IndyStar, he was parading around Indiana University wearing a Silver Star, claiming to be an Infantry/Special Forces major and a hero of Desert Storm.

    Well, we got his FOIA and he was never promoted past Second Lieutenant as a Military Intelligence officer and he had never served on active duty except for training – no Desert Storm, his commissioned service didn’t start until four years after the first Gulf War. Of course, there are no awards in his records jacket at NPRC – no Silver Star;

    Mr Bill noticed that Bradford has been hired at the Department of Energy now as the Director of Office of Indian Energy. His bio at the DoE doesn’t mention his pretend military career or his teaching stint at USMA, but it claims that he’s now a faculty member at the Coast Guard Academy and that he “volunteers as a reader to the Blind Veterans of America, as a qualified liver donor”. I’d look into all of that shit, including the liver donor thing. He’s a proven liar.

    Oh, by the way, the Washington Post doesn’t like him either for his politics, so we agree for very different reasons.