Category: Who knows

11B-Mailclerk sends us a link to the UK’s Telegraph which reports on a new Sweden-brewed beer inspired by Roy Larner, the hero of the Black & Blue restaurant and bar where some terrorists attacked patrons and Larner attracted their attention from the rest with his now-iconic phrase “F*** you, I’m Millwall”.

In a statement on their website Frequency Beer Works said: “We were humbled and impressed to read about Millwall supporter Roy Larner, who single-handedly stepped in against the terrorists in London, shouting ‘F*** you, I’m Millwall!’, saving countless lives by drawing the attention of the attackers, giving others the possibility to run to safety.

“We salute him, and have made a special edition of our bitter available in his honour. A portion of the proceedings will be donated to the fund started in his name.”

A more appropriate tribute isn’t possible.

The folks at CBS Films and Lionsgate wanted me to tell you about their new film, American Assassin, due out in September;

AMERICAN ASSASSIN follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War.

A few weeks ago we talked about Travis Wade, an actor who had claimed to be a USMC sniper. During the discussion afterward, another actor, Scott Levy, emailed us and because he misread my email signature block, accused me of stealing valor, because he thought I was claiming to be a retired Army Specialist (SPC) instead of a retired Army Sergeant First Class (SFC). So, I decided that I’d take a look at his records.

According to his IMDb bio, he claimed to be “a Stinger missile gunner in the United States Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War.” The implication, of course, is that he was an Air Defense Artillery guy “in” Desert Storm.

He has, however, admitted in subsequent interviews that he wasn’t in Desert Storm;

Levy was indeed a Marine, and he was on active duty during the Gulf War, it looks like he wasn’t finished with his initial training before Desert Storm ended, so he wasn’t even close, not that there was much call for Stinger operators since Hussein’s air force wasn’t a factor during the war;

His Marine Corps career was fairly brief, if you look down at the bottom of his assignments, you’ll notice that he was AWOL for 20 days, which might have had something to do with his abbreviated tour of duty. He did 15 months of active duty, which is not a normal stretch. He left the Marine Corps as a Private First Class (E-2).

But I just want to clarify his IMDb bio – Scott Levy is not a Desert Storm veteran, because that might not be clear to anyone reading the IMDb bio.

By the way, if it’s not clear yet, don’t ever question my service.

You probably remember that a few weeks ago we had the big national discussion about Sheriff David Clarke’s uniform that was started by Charles Clymer, who stated that he didn’t like Clarke’s uniform, based on Clymer’s time in the military. So we decided to look into his military career.

Well, he had six years of service as an infantryman in A Company, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) in Washington, DC and as a West Point cadet at the US Military Academy until he became disabled for some reason.

The 4th/3rd’s webpage describes their mission;

The 4th Battalion, 3d US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) conducts memorial affairs to honor our fallen comrades, and ceremonies and special events to represent the Army, communicating its story to our Nation’s citizens and the world.
On order, conducts defense support of civil authorities in the National Capitol Region.

He was slated to graduate in the class of 2013 at USMA before his illness or injury in 2011;

So, I guess he spent less than 4 years in The Old Guard, which explains his fetish about uniforms and bling.

So, he didn’t lie about his military career at all.

There you go. You asked and we answered.

The New York Times reports that the President has finally made a choice to FBI director job – Christopher Wray, a former federal prosecutor;

Mr. Wray is a safe, mainstream pick from a president who at one point was considering politicians for a job that has historically been kept outside of politics. Mr. Wray, a former assistant attorney general overseeing the criminal division under President George W. Bush, is likely to allay the fears of F.B.I. agents who worried that Mr. Trump would try to weaken or politicize the F.B.I.

Mr. Wray, two administration officials said, is a hybrid pick for Mr. Trump: He is a seasoned criminal lawyer who bonded with Mr. Christie when both were young attorneys in the Justice Department, and a highly regarded criminal defense lawyer who represented Mr. Christie in the aftermath of the scandal over traffic jams that rocked his governorship.

[…]

Mr. Wray played a pivotal role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, providing oversight of operations as the country adjusted to a new reality. As head of the criminal division from 2003 to 2005, he directed efforts to deal with fraud scandals plaguing the corporate world.

The New York Times almost seems pleased with the nomination.

While Mr. Wray is not known as a partisan, he has donated consistently to Republican candidates in recent years. Over the past decade, he has contributed at least $35,000 to Republican candidates or committees, according to data maintained by the Federal Election Commission. He did not do so during the 2016 election, but he has donated to Republican presidential nominees, including $2,300 to support Senator John McCain of Arizona in 2008 and $7,500 to back Mitt Romney in 2012.

Donting to Republicans isn’t a crime…yet.

The ACLU wasted no time letting us know by email that *SURPRISE* they oppose the nomination of Wray;

Faiz Shakir, American Civil Liberties Union national political director, had the following reaction:

“Americans are rightly alarmed by reports that President Trump attempted to influence an FBI investigation into his campaign — and by his subsequent decision to fire the man running that investigation — because the United States is a nation of laws, and no individual, including the president, is above those laws. Given the White House’s repeated attempts to influence the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign, as well as actions by Attorney General Sessions that may have violated his recusal pledge, it is imperative that the next FBI director be trustworthy and operate independently, free from political influence, including any potential loyalty pledge requested by President Trump.

“Christopher Wray’s firm’s legal work for the Trump family, his history of partisan activity, as well as his history of defending Trump’s transition director during a criminal scandal makes us question his ability to lead the FBI with the independence, even-handed judgment, and commitment to the rule of law that the agency deserves. Given that Wray touts his deep involvement in the Bush administration’s response to the 9/11 attacks, which includes his connections to some of the most unlawful legal memos on Bush-era torture programs, the Senate should press Wray to come clean about his role in the programs. In this important moment for our country, the American people deserve a commitment from any nominee for FBI director to the foundational principles of our Constitution, and that that commitment outweighs any loyalty to a political party or a single politician. We will be watching closely in the coming days to ensure Wray makes these commitments and earns the trust of the public.”

The ACLU fails to mention that they would oppose the nomination of Chuck Schumer if Trump was the person making the nomination.

Mick sends us a link from Fox News which reports that some police groups and parade sponsors are flocking away from the Puerto Rico Day parade because of the plan to honor terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera;

Defenders of Lopez Rivera argue he was never directly implicated in any attack. Mayor Bill de Blasio is scheduled to march in the parade, though NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill and police and fire unions have refused to participate.

This is not my shocked face that deBlasio will be there – he doesn’t give a tiny rat’s ass about victims in his city. To deBlasio, anything that the police don’t like is fine by him.