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

Category: “Teh Stoopid”

  • Bissonnette Loses Royalties, Speaking Fees from “No Easy Day”

    As longtime TAH readers know, Matt Bissonnette wrote a book about the takedown of bin Laden called No Easy Day under the pseudonym “Mark Owen”.  It’s been the subject of numerous articles here at TAH (see here and here and here) and has been mentioned in several other related articles.

    Bissonnette ended up in a bit of legal trouble over the book.  While he wasn’t criminally prosecuted, the government took him to court to enforce his nondisclosure agreement.  One of the terms of that nondisclosure agreement is that all profits from any work revealing classified information that is published without appropriate prior review are to be turned over to the government.

    The court suit has now been settled.  Bissonnette will forfeit to the US government all royalties and profits from his book; that amount is already believed to be over $6.6 million.  Within 30 days he will also pony up $100k in speaking fees he received for using slides (apparently based on the same information) that were also not submitted for review prior to public use.

    In short, he’ll do exactly what he agreed he would do when he signed his SF312, Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement.

    IMO, Bissonnette and his original lawyers were idiots – Bissonnette for not complying originally, and his lawyers for letting this drag on for years.  The SF312 is quite clear and unambiguous regarding both post-employment disclosures and the procedures for publishing works that may contain classified information – and it has been for decades.

    Signing a SF312 is required for access to classified information.  Bissonnette signed a SF312 – and probably multiple copies – during his Navy career.

    But I guess the prospect for a 7-figure payday sometimes brings out “teh stoopid” in people.

    And please, spare me the “the government is singling him out to screw him for political reasons” or “he didn’t know” garbage – because that’s bullsh!t.  Bissonnette signed on the dotted line; if he was too stupid to read the document and understand it, that’s on him.

    Besides:  Bissonnette has written a follow-up book entitled No Hero: the Evolution of a Navy SEAL, also under the pseudonym “Mark Owen”.  He submitted that book for the appropriate pre-publication review.  It was approved by DoD with minor redactions.

    Count your blessings, Mattie-boi.  For what you did, it’s entirely possible you could be in jail today vice simply out considerable coin.

  • Yer Slightly Late Midweek Funny: “Love That Car!”

    Some time back, a commenter here at TAH posted a rather, um, “interesting”  video of a guy who “really liked” one particular automobile.  If you’re curious, that video can be viewed here – though I’d suggest doing so where you won’t have to explain it to anyone who happens to see what you’re watching.

    That was several years ago, and guy appears to have gotten away with it. But apparently someone in Dayton, OH, wasn’t so lucky recently.  The guy in Dayton apparently got busted for doing the same thing to a red van.

    I’m not joking.

    I’d guess it would be a good bet that substantial alcohol consumption was involved in both cases.  (smile)

  • Benghazi Redux? Maybe.

    “I know the U.S. Embassy was working on a plan, but it’s a shell of what they need. There appears to be a lack of coordinated effort between the U.S. Embassy and the American companies and personnel here . . . .”

    So, the above was written about Benghazi, right?  Um, that would be a, “No.”

    The above is a statement by Mike Warren, a security director for the USAID-backed Mining Investment and Development for Afghanistan Sustainability Project.  He’s referring to the current state of US emergency evacuation planning for Afghanistan should things go bad there.

    As Santayana said:  “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

    Circa.com has a detailed article discussing the above today.  IMO it’s worth reading.

    Sheesh.  If the linked article is anywhere near accurate, nothing has changed.  DoS appears to be just as institutionally clueless and inept as it was 4 years ago.

    But for the current      gang of fools and tools calling the shots in DC       Administration, being institutionally clueless and inept is nothing new.  Besides:  “What difference does it make?”

  • More “Iran Nuclear Agreement” News

    Remember that “Nuclear Deal” with Iran that was negotiated by the current        gang of fools who want to give away the farm      Administration?  You know, the one that was going to “put the brakes” on Iran’s nuclear program and ensure they never developed a nuke?

    Well, it seems that Iran has announced the construction of two additional nuclear plants.  They’re going to spend a total of $10 billion to do so – of which, 17% ($1.7 billion) was recently paid to Iran in cash by the US as       ransom for US citizens held by Iran       a “settlement” of outstanding financial issues dating back to the Iranian revolution.  In effect, we provided Iran the down payment for this nuclear expansion.

    So, the current Administration is aghast at this development – right?  They’re pulling out all the stops to keep Iran from doing this?

    Hardly.  In fact, the US Administration approves of it.  They say that the two new plants are permitted under the agreement.

    The Washington Free Beacon has an article giving more details.  Their story is IMO worth a read.

    Yeah, that “nuclear agreement” is really a great deal.  For the Iranians, anyway.

  • About that San Bernardino “Valor Award” . . . .

    A few weeks ago, Jonn wrote about Irene Martinez – chief of an USICS office in San Bernardino – being nominated to receive the DHS “Award for Valor”.  However, at the time USICS was reluctant to disclose precisely what it was that Ms. Martinez had done to merit nomination to receive the award.

    Well, now we know.  Apparently DHS has finally responded to a FOIA request concerning the matter.

    During the San Bernardino terrorist shootings that occurred about a mile and a half away from her facility, Ms. Martinez first “warned [her] employees to be very careful and to be vigil (sic) about their surroundings”.  While the facility was on lockdown, she then went out to the parking lot and fetched one of her employees who was sitting in his car after returning from lunch, bringing him inside.

    She afterwards “soothed members of the public who were temporarily stranded in the building.”  According to the paperwork nominating her for the DHS Award for Valor, her actions that day “demonstrated not only her professionalism and exceptional leadership, but also her compassion and caring for her employees and the public we serve.”

    Yes, I’m serious.  That’s really why she was nominated.  The material in quotes above are reportedly direct quotes from the award nomination paperwork.

    Now, I don’t know about you – but something strikes me as a bit odd here.  Previous recipients of the same award apparently received the award for actions such as confronting armed criminals, or for rescuing persons from sinking ships or burning cars.  You know, for situations in which actual honest-to-God bravery was required.

    Ms. Martinez, in contrast, was apparently nominated for the award for nothing more than taking those routine actions any supervisor would be expected to take during a facility lockdown.  In short:  she was nominated simply for doing her freaking job.

    Oh, and in case anyone’s forgotten:  Ms. Martinez also apparently has a rather odd view of what consititutes “doing her job”.  It turns out that Ms. Martinez was quite uncooperative when 5 DHS LE personnel came to her facility the next day looking for a person of interest in connection with the previous day’s terrorist shooting.  That person of interest – Enrique Marquez – was believed at the time to have supplied the two terrorist bastards who’d perpetrated the previous day’s attack the weapons they’d used.  Marquez was scheduled for an appointment at Ms. Martinez’s facility, but was a no-show.

    Ms. Martinez delayed those 5 Federal LE agents for approximately 1 1/2 hours in the performance of their duties, apparently for bureaucratic “turf war” reasons.  She then outright lied to DHS IG investigators about her actions that day when the matter was later investigated.

    It seems to me that both of those later actions by Ms. Martinez may well qualify as crimes – the former possibly as interfering with a Federal investigation (18 USC 111, or 18 USC 1512(b)3) and the latter as giving a false statement to Federal investigators (18 USC 1001).  But it doesn’t seem as if anyone at DHS much cares about that.

    But they sure seem to want to give the lady an award for doing nothing more than her job.  Go figure.

  • $20 Million for Art? Pfft. Merely Peanuts.

    I suppose everyone’s heard the recent news about the VA spending $20M on art.  Well, as far as VA “management excellence” goes, it turns out that’s peanuts.

    During the period 2010-2013, the VA began implementation of 15 solar energy projects.  They were projected to take on average of 7 to 12 months, and to all be completed by now.

    I suppose you can guess what’s coming.  And if you guessed “another sterling example of the VA’s excellence in managing the use of its resources” – you’d be right.  (I trust the sarcasm in the previous sentence is obvious.)

    Instead, the projects are taking an average of 42 months to completion.  Further, most aren’t yet fully operational.

    In aggregate, the projects were projected to cost $95M.  So far, the VA has spent approximately $408M – which is “only” 329+% over budget.  And some of the projects haven’t even begun to produce electricity, let alone reach full operating capacity.  In fact, of the 15 projects investigated by the VA OIG only two were operating at design capacity by March of this year.

    The Washington Free Beacon has a good article giving more details.  It’s worth a read.  So is the VA OIG report on the subject (PDF format).  Be forewarned:  both just might p!ss you off.

    “Saving the environment”? Yeah, right.  IMO “political payback using tax dollars” sounds more like it.

  • Clock-Boy Wants to Get Paid

    Remember “Clock boy”, AKA Clachmed?  You know, the Islamic activist’s son who disassembled a 1980s-vintage digital clock and repackaged it into a case large enough to hold a complete M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine with room to spare, and took it to school – then set it to alarm in class?  And who did that about 4 months after a couple of terrorist bastards had tried to shoot up a “Draw Mohammed” show a few miles away from his school?

    Well, guess what.  It appears he and his family – who left the US for Qatar last October – have decided they want to get paid.

    Clachmed is currently in the USA for the summer “visiting family and friends”.   I’m sure that it’s “just a coincidence” that while he’s “visiting family and friends” here in the USA, his family has also filed suit against his former school district for “violating his civil rights”.

    Yeah, right.  Can you say, “Fishing for a 7-figure settlement?”  Sure.  I knew you could.

    Sheesh.  All things considered, the young man is lucky as hell.  If he’d pulled that stunt in many if not most places in the world and gotten caught there’s a good chance he’d still be in jail – if not dead.

    I hope the judge who gets this case has enough common sense to toss it with prejudice, and sticks the youngster’s family with attorneys’ fees for both sides.  But I’m not holding my breath.

     

  • Yer Midweek Funny: Do NOT Try This At Home

    Here’s a stunt you do NOT want to attempt yourself.

    Man encases genitals in plaster, gets stuck

    Why not, you ask?  I mean, what’s wrong with making a cast of your . . . self for posterity?

    Well, it’s like this.  Plaster generates additional heat as it cures.

    The       dumb ass       individual doing this had already warmed the plaster to around 158 F before applying it.  That’s fairly hot to begin with – and as the plaster cured, it got considerably hotter.

    As the man began to experience literal bratwurst, he attempted to remove the plaster.  Unfortunately, by that point in time the plaster was rather well hardened.  He was desperate, though – resorting to using a hammer and chisel, a saw, and even a power drill to free his trapped appendage.

    He did eventually end up extricating his family jewels from their artificial stone prison.  However, as he put it, “My (groin was) so hot, I thought they would turn into charcoal.”

    The individual in question is a Russian blogger who goes by the name of “Boroda Dead”.  He’s damned lucky that he doesn’t have to change his online moniker now to “Johnson Dead”.

    Dolbo’yeb here apparently made a video of his ordeal, which has now reputedly gone viral.  Sorry, folks – you’ll have to search the Internet yourself to find that video if you want to watch it.  I’m not going to look for it.

    Sheesh.   Looks like we once again have more proof that the Refreshments were right 25+ years ago.  But tell me:  who’d have guessed that that famous aspiring rapper “1-DMF” had relatives in Russia?