Let The Sun Shine In!

I have tried a few ways to rescue Terri Schiavo. My latest foray was to email Gov. Bush and ask him to have the state attorney general threaten the mayor and board of Pinellas Park with negligent homocide if they don't call off their police force and send an ambulance to take her to an emergency room. Once she gets to a hospital, she will be given basic life support while her current medical condition is evaluated. If her parents are correct, that should save her life.

In the mean time, I sent them an email asking they dress her up, put her in a wheelchair and take her for a walk! Apparently, the poor woman has not been outside in years! Let her breathe fresh air! Let the sun shine down upon her! Let nature give her life!

Update 3/30/05 11:45 AM - Once they have her wheelchair outside, they should roll her to an emergency room! Let the cops try to stop her in front of the TV cameras! Let her visage shine forth for all to see on worldwide live TV feeds! Push back the forces of darkness & death!

Rioting at Iran-Japan Soccer Match

Click above to get the latest at Regime Change Iran. Today's news (3/25) reflects increasing unrest as the people take to the streets. I've posted a few ideas for a plan of action. Here is an update on the situation
http://regimechangeiran.blogspot.com/2005/03/update-on-protests.html


GO PERSIANS, GO!!


(For new Persian readers of Machias Privateer, here is the link to the story of the capture of the Margaretta from the British on June 12, 1775) http://machiasprivateer.blogspot.com/2004/10/launching-october-24-2004.html

Terri Schiavo's Last Chance

My suggestion is to prepare a divorce petition for Terri Schiavo and challenge her to make her "X". If she is sufficiently sentient to understand that this is the only way to save her life, we can assume she'll try her best. If she succeeds, she has an argument to make in court. If she fails, then her husband's position that she is not sentient is correct. Let her prove she wants to live!

Update 3/26/05 1:33 AM - It seems the judicial string is played out, unless there is compelling physical evidence that Terri Schiavo wants to live. I hope they try to get her to sign her name and then take the evidence before a judge. If she succeeds, we can rejoice. If she fails, then we can take comfort that her sacrifice will help others in the future. So just as we accept losses of our military men & women in Iraq for a future good, we will accept the loss of Terri. Already, she has made a difference. So whatever happens, Godspeed - Terri Schiavo!

Today's Iran Update

Here is the most interesting post at Regime Change Iran today...

"Intelligence sources claim Iran has developed a new liquid fuel version of the Shihab-3 that can travel significantly farther than previous models and carry a much larger warhead. The Shihab-3A reached a range of 1,700 kilometers, by far the longest distance of the missile."

I added a comment about the "South West Asia Painted Desert of Glass". Got in a reference to Dale Chihuly too ( www.chichuly.com ! This blogging is such fun!

Update 3/24/05 6:33 AM - Added more comments at RGI to the post which begins...

"The EU3/Iran negotiations were supposed to conclude with this final round of talks. Iran had even threatened to restart its enrichment program if the talks didn't produce the results they were looking for. Instead we are told, "The tone of the meeting was positive," said Iran's UN Ambassador and that they are scheduling more talks soon."

I gave them a link to "The Onion" and let them see that the U.S.S. Carl Vinson is on station in the Persian Gulf and preparing to do the will of the President of the United States!

Life Intrudes

Regular readers will note that I've been posting less than normal. Real life has intruded! However, I am mulling a unified theory of cardiovascular disease. I am considering describing blood as an emulsion of a lipid mixture and an electrolyte (sort of like oil & vinegar). Reliable measures of the state of the blood might predict the likelihood of a heart attack and could be derived from viscosity and pH measurements. It is coming along pretty well, but requires a lot of thought, which leaves less time for blogging! If you have any thoughts on the matter, post a comment.

Shah Pahlavi's Revenge

Click above for another great story at Regime Change Iran. It details all the arguments and counter-arguments for war with Iran. Once again I've added two comments. The first deals with our ability to use Standard 3 anti-ballistic missiles on our navy ships in the gulf to counter any future Iranian nuclear attack on us or Israel. The second details with a plan to re-use destroyers originally built for the Shah as our second strike, nuclear counterforce to Iran's nuclear ambitions. They fire just one nuke our way and we turn them into Mullah Flambe Nuculaire!

Update 3/23/05 5:29 AM - Corrected spelling to Pahlavi. Thanks to Tom Lifson of the American Thinker who also linked to this post. Be sure to check today's Regime Change Iran for even more news and two more of my comments!

Iran's Mullah Rats Dig Tunnels, I'm a Terrier!

Click above for an old post at Regime Change Iran. They have a story about how Iran is digging tunnels to protect their enrichment capabilities from "bunker busters". I accidently pulled up this post and decided to make some new comments! I had noted that we could always use a Trident 2 D-5 "silo buster" to defeat the tunnels. Go there and read all three comments. So, just as Scylla & Charybdis was the central bulletin board for Rathergate legal affairs, I've decided to encourage making Regime Change Iran the bulletin board for defeating Iran's mullahs. Keep up the good work!

Update 3/22/05 5:37AM - Corrected date of original RGI post and made a general revision to this post.

Pushing Forward in Iran & North Korea

Click above for the latest negotiating posture of Iran as reported on RegimeChangeIran. Here is an excerpt...

"Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, said the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiators have definitively and officially told Europeans that Iran will never accept a permanent halt to its enrichment programme."Iran's negotiating team has openly told Europeans Iran will not accept a permanent suspension of uranium enrichment and this is Iran's definitive and official position." Rowhani said Wednesday to the members of Experts' Assembly of clerics who appoint the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. READ MORE

He asked Europeans not to be influenced by political pressures from the United States and "not to disrupt the confidence-building process between two sides", state television reported.The two sides are to convene on March 23 for a high-level steering committee meeting, and Tehran hopes to see an agreement on "a formula that recognizes the right of Iran to continue enrichment and lifts the concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme", Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kahrazi told a press conference on Tuesday."In exchange, the Europeans have to give firm guarantees that open the path towards greater cooperation in the fields of politics and investment," Kharazi said."

Note my comment in the comments section! I have a counter offer for Iran, a Trident 2 D-5! Meanwhile, in best bi-polar negogiating style, I have a "kill them with kindness" offer for the North Korean people to abandon their leader and surrender in return for food, blankets and seeds to grow more food (e.g. Tsunami relief, American style).

WHICH DO THEY WANT, THE GOOD PRIVATEER OR THE ENRAGED PRIVATEER? AND THEY WONDER WHERE THE U.S. MARINES GOT THEIR "YOUR BEST FRIEND OR YOUR WORST ENEMY" MEME!

The Shame of Irish Tribalism

Yesterday, in Washington D.C., we saw two examples of Irish tribalism and how it causes so much trouble! The first was the visit to The White House by the five McCartney sisters of Belfast. Their brother was brutally murdered by the IRA, which has since tried to impose the Irish version of "omerta", the code of silence, on the 70 witnesses present! The world, and even some Catholics in Northern Ireland, is outraged. And support for the IRA in such useful foolish circles as Teddy Kennedy's has dried up.

Meanwhile, Irish-American Mark McGwire was telling a Congressional committee that he would not tell them about other player's use of anabolic steroids. He couldn't do that, it would be a violation of "the code of silence". I did not see the movie, but wasn't that a theme in "The Gangs of New York" where violence and thuggish behavior ruled the day and "the code of silence" was the norm? Well, why don't you take your peasant ways and go back where you came from, because in America we have a legal principal known as misprision of a felony. This makes complying with "the code of silence" a crime in of itself. You become a de facto accessory to the crime. I do not know if Northern Ireland has the same type of laws, but if I were in charge there I'd start hauling potential witnesses in for questioning. If I found someone who was present in the bar, I'd charge them and put them on trial for misprision of a felony before a jury of voters (many of whom will belong to other "gangs" and might like to see an IRA sympathizer rot in gaol)! We'll see how long the "code of silence" holds up under threat of imprisonment!

The Glory Days in Liberal Arts College

A young lady of my acquaintance recently graduated early from college with a liberal arts degree. While she waits for the next school year to begin at graduate school, she is looking for a job. This has left her with time on her hands and a chance to reflect. There’s the rub! She has been asking her friends if they know of any jobs that are available. They have a habit of asking, in turn...

“What do you want to do?"
“What do I want to be? I don’t know. Maybe become a writer,” she replies.
“Have you written anything. Do you have anything in mind?”

These questions draw a complete silence.

The dilemma of a liberal arts degree! After spending her life being subject to the demands of her parents, she went off to college and got her freedom, but at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars per year. Her parents’ and grandparents’ money bought her the attention of all those professors. She was the paying customer, to whom they deferentially paid homage. She was a queen. Now it’s back to reality! To be a writer in the “Real World” she first has to write something and then has to sell it! Oh, those awful corporations aren’t just begging her to allow them to pay her for her writings!
Presumably, a similar revelation is about to hit the rest of this year’s crop of liberal arts graduates. Unlike their science and engineering colleagues, they do not have a clear marketable skill. So they muddle around until they find something they can do that people will pay for. They’ll go into teaching or advertising or low paying newspaper jobs. Anything that will help pay off those college loans. And they will spend the rest of their lives reliving the glory days, when the world was at their feet, back when they were in college!

Iranian Revolution Redux

As usual there is much excitement and news at Regime Change Iran (click above). They note that the OPEC oil ministers are meeting in Iran. I posted a comment with a modest suggestion. The Iraqis should take the OPEC ministers hostage until they get a democratic government!

Yes, I know, it's just the imp in me coming out again! :-)

Banda Aceh Relief Operation Goes Native

Click above for the PACOM article on the departure of USNS Mercy dated March 16...

"U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy and German military units will leave Aceh, concluding relief efforts in Indonesia's westernmost province, the area hardest hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
The departure is taking place as the Indonesian government plans to start reconstruction this month in the province, where more than 220,000 people were killed or are missing after a magnitude 9 earthquake unleashed waves that destroyed coastal areas in the Indian Ocean and killed more than 270,000 people in 12 countries.
The San Diego-based hospital ship is leaving Banda Aceh waters today, concluding six weeks of humanitarian efforts and health services ashore and afloat, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in an e-mailed statement today. As many as 19,512 medical procedures, including 285 surgeries were performed on the ship since it arrived on Feb. 2, the statement said."

One wonders where the French aircraft carrier Charles DeGaulle is at this moment. Last projected ETA was April Fool's Day, so they should arrive about two weeks after the last partygoers went home. If I remember my schoolboy French lessons correctly (it's been over four decades ago) Qu'elle domage!

The National Anthem Project

Long time readers will remember my post of 1/23/05 regarding the complete lyrics to the National Anthem. I’m glad to announce my support for a new initiative, The National Anthem Project. I will be joining some great company:

Honorary Chairperson – First Lady Laura Bush
The American Legion
Girl Scouts USA
National Association for Music Education
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
The History Channel
The Walt Disney Company
And many others.

Be sure to join the project! You can start by clicking for the original post to see the full lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner".

Re-unification of the Chinese People

It seems the Chinese have voted to try to resist Taiwan's desire for freedom. Click above for the full story. I have a proposed solution, but a little history first. The island was called Formosa and its people the Formosans. After the Communists prevailed in the post-WW II civil war, the Nationalist Chinese moved to Formosa and pushed aside the Formosans in matters of government.

So here is my proposal.

1) The Chinese Communists hold a free and fair election for Premier of China putting up their candidate against a Nationalist Chinese candidate currently living on Formosa. The winner becomes Premier of China! A rematch of the civil war, but at the ballot box not the point of a gun!

2) Formosa holds a free and fair election for Premier of Formosa.

2) The new Premier of China enters into negotitations with the new Premier of Formosa to decide the Taiwanese question. Should they combine into one nation? Should they remain separate nations? Should the Nationalist Chinese return to their native land and leave Formosa to the Formosans?

LET THE PEOPLES SPEAK!

Planning Magic Carpet II

On the wall of the marines' conference room hangs a sign quoting Lawrence of Arabia. "Better the Arabs do it tolerably than you do it perfectly," it reads in part. "It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them . . . . " Abizaid drove home the same point. "The hardest thing your successors need to do is take their hand off the wheel. What we have to do is set the Iraqis in front to fight the insurgency," he told the marines. "The insurgency will go on long past the time we are gone."

The above quote (hat tip Discarded Lies) should be emblazoned on the standing orders of every American in Iraq! We need to plan on the Iraqis succeeding in forming a new democratic, constitutional government in elections this November, and then American forces leaving for home with the intent to be home by Christmas. That should be our explicit plan. We can always modify the plan to extend the tours of our forces there if something goes wrong. But planning on keeping our original war plan will build confidence that we keep to our word, put pressure on the Iraqis to settle their differences while we are still there, and totally undermine the perception that we intend to be an occupying power. It would tend to become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Operation Magic Carpet was the program to bring our troops home from Japan after the surrender in September 1945. We should begin planning a similar program to bring our troops home from Iraq in late November to early December 2005.

P.S. We can always include an option to "retreat" through Iran, if things don't go well at the UN!

Nobody Asked me But...

The March 2005 issue of Proceedings from the U.S. Naval Institute has an article on pp 92-94 by Lt. Col. Gian Gentile, U.S. Army, entitled "The Army Can Fight Small Wars, Too" with which I have several disagreements. Proceedings has a regular feature column entitled Nobody Asked Me But... Here is my submission to the editor.

"I was quite disappointed by Lieutenant Colonel Gentile’s attitude regarding critiques of the Army’s performance in Iraq. He simply put on a historical rant to deflect criticism from the Army. As a civilian, here are some of my observations.

Attitude - The Marines have a clearly superior attitude toward the men from their officers. This is a natural outgrowth of their historical commitment to being a volunteer organization. The Army is a top down hierarchal organization. In the Marines, it is “Every man a rifleman”. In much of the Army, it is “Rank has its privileges”. To give Colonel Gentile a little perspective, I suggest he compare the disciplinary methods of our Army compared to the Russian Army. He would likely be appalled to have the corruption, beatings, bribery etc, in his Army. Why? Because the Russian army is built on an outdated model of attrition warfare. Our Army has been forced out of that model by the end of the draft. But the future is clear, an all volunteer force with respect for each individual. The Army’s tagline “An Army of One” can’t be just an advertising slogan.

Fire Discipline - Col. Gentile would do well to read Bing West's book, The Road Up, Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division. In it he relates a story of a tanker taking aim on a solitary mujahadeen and dispatching him with a single .50 caliber round. Note that he did not spray him with a full automatic burst or the main gun! Things got really bad in Fallujah when the Army sprayed the crowd with automatic weapons fire. Widespread complaints of indiscriminate fire were common, but undressed. Soon Fallujah became the center of an insurgency. It is also worth noting that it took Marines walking in Baghdad to encourage Iraqis to tear down the statue of Saddam on worldwide television. They only intervened to help the Iraqis when it became obvious that they could use a little help. If you want to win hearts and minds, you need to understand the common desire to say “Please Mom, I’d rather do it myself.” But accommodated such desires is quite difficult if your mindset is a top down hierarchy. And do you want to talk about which service the Abu Ghraib jail guards belonged to?

Creature Comforts- The Marines fought their way to Baghdad. The Army drove largely unopposed through an open desert. The main drama they encountered until they reached Baghdad was a sandstorm. Meanwhile, the Marines had to sit around cooling their heels while they waited for the Army to catch up. Do you think you could afford to travel a little lighter next time Colonel?

Clearance Operations - The simple truth is that the Marines led the way in subduing potentially hostile populations. Who was it that defeated the Sadr militia Colonel? It was Iraqis backed by overwhelming Marine firepower used only when needed. And Fallujah fell when the Marines went in backed by Army cavalry units and Air Force airpower.

Summary - I would suggest to the Colonel that the Army has much to learn from the Marines conduct of Operation Iraqi Freedom, rather than the Marines learning from some ancient army operation in the Philippines."

Update 3/13/05 - Corrected book reference from Gen. Mattis to Bing West.

Dictators Can't Stand To Be A Laughingstock!

Today’s Regime Change Iran has a post “Down With Stability” here is my comment…

“The Onion has an article “Bush Announces Iraq Exit Strategy: We’ll Go Through Iran”. The statement reads “coalition air units will leave forward air bases in Iraq and transport munitions to undisclosed locations in Iran. After 72 to 96 hours of aerial-bomb retreats, armored-cavalry units will retreat across the Zagros mountains in tanks, armored personnel carriers, and strike helicopters. The balance of the 120,000 troops will exit into the oil-rich borderlands around the Shatt-al-Arab region within 30 days.” (Note - The editor has it on the authority of BlackFive that the exit strategy actually includes American troops withdrawing from Afghanistan to the west!)

NEWS FLASH!!!
Washington D.C. - In an effort to beat the U.S. Army in its campaign to liberate Iran, the U.S. Navy announced today at 17:51 EST (2251Z) that it had targeted the Iranian tunnels used for nuclear fuel enrichment with Trident 2, D-5 silobusters and that they are holding the town of Isfahan hostage until the mullahs agree to hold a referendum on ending the theocracy in favor of a democratic government. Until such time as the mullahs agree to this demand, the U.S. Marines stationed aboard the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard in the Arabian Gulf (nee Persian Gulf) will board and detain any oil tankers bound for China to search for weapons of mass destruction being smuggled back out of Iran & Iraq. All vessels found to be in violation of United Nations resolutions will be impounded, directed to a U.S. port and their cargo sold by authority of the Admiralty Court. Any remaining disputes will be referred to the World Court and the offenders will be put under an arrest warrant. The matter will then be sent to The World's Policeman, George W. Bush for action!

GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!”

China - Will You Control Your Brat or Will I Have To?

Click above for today's update on Iran at Regime Change Iran. They still seem to be a bit feisty. And elsewhere we heard that China was threatening Taiwan. Well, threatening is a two way street. Here is the text of my comment at Regime Change...

"So Mr. Mullah, now that we've established you cannot force the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, would you like to talk about the Straits of Mollucca? It seems the U.S. has new friends in Indonesia who might be willing to impose a "toll" on tanker traffic destined to China. And the Indonesians could use the money to repay the generosity of their friends in Japan & Taiwan, "The Coalition of the Willing Donors", if you will. and unlike the weak Islamic pirates of old, we could establish a tollbooth police department of a U.S. Marine MEU(SOC) with an Admiralty court to sell impounded offender's tankers (i.e. We'd have a way to "Fence" the stolen oil).So the question to you & the Chinese is, do you think 1 billion Chinese people want to go back to being coolies?"

Now our official policy in peace is open navigation of the high seas with free innocent passage through the straits of the world. But that does not abnegate the rights of a country to its territorial waters entirely. After all, you want to charge tolls for passage through the Panama Canal don't you? And if the Canal were closed, who would be hurt the most? All those shipments of cheap Chinese manufactured goods destined for the American East Coast markets? Why if that traffic were disrupted, we'd have to re-open American factories and provide manufacturing jobs at reduced wages to former union employees who had gotten too big for their britches, but were now willing to take any paying job!

Welcome Home, heroes of Tsunami Relief!!! BZ

Remember F-Troop?How it is possible to become a leader by standing still while everyone else takes one step back? Well the Blue Staters have just handed the Red Staters a victory!

While they and their useful idiot friends in the mainstream media were telling us how noble Bill Clinton was to let George H. W. Bush sleep in the only bed on their plane while he slept in his chair or on the floor (Wow, making a tiny sacrifice for an 80 year old war hero!), The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group returned to its home port of Everett, Washington on Friday (click above for video press release) after flying off her carrier air wing CVW-2 off San Diego. You know the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group don't you?

HEROES OF TSUNAMI RELIEF AT BANDA ACEH!!

WELCOME HOME! WHAT YOU DID IN OUR NAME MAKES ALL OF US VERY PROUD! BRAVO ZULU!

Update 3/10/05 6:28 AM - A picture is worth 1000 words, so here are 2000 words worth of good news.
The Lincoln approaching home port.
The Lincoln safely home!

Iranian Students "Referendum Yes, Elections No"

Here is one post from Regime Change today (with minor spelling corrections - click above for the whole blog)...

"Iranian presidential candidate, Dr. Moein, faced a barrage of protests by students in Isfahan university yesterday. At the beginning of the proceedings, the Islamic Republic anthem was played, but the students instead of singing the official state anthem, stood up and sang the alternative nationalist “Ey Iran” anthem.

Many of the students held placards saying “Referendum Yes, Elections No” which referred to the futility of pre-selected elections in Islamic Republic and what the people of Iran really want, a referendum for the drafting of a new constitution that is compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all its associated covenants. read more

Other placards, displayed slogans such as “Reform Died”, “Bread, Freedom, Equality”. The proceedings ended without a single display of support for Dr. Moein’s candidacy. In another university in Mashad, North East Iran, the students turned the Student Publications Ceremony Day to a demonstration against the Islamic Republic and even kicked out president Khatami’s Health Minister from the ceremony. More than a thousand students took part in the protest and took control of the podium for more than an hour, expressing similar demands to the students in Isfahan..

Islamic Republic News Agency, ILNA reported the incident and quoted the angry Health Minister, Pezeshkian as saying “These were not real students, they say they want democracy and yet they disrupted the ceremony and kicked me out” Khorasan Daily, reported the incident by saying “Such disruption and controversy during a university ceremony was unprecedented.”

I added this comment...

"Isfahan university? That's Ground Zero for the effort to disarm Iraq's nuclear weapons ambitions! That is the center of the Trident 2 target zone. No wonder the students are feeling the need to rebell against the mullahs. They want to live! Very smart! They must have learned something in school, something not taught in the Islamic schools! That the original American flag read "Don't Tread on Me!" and showed a picture of a coiled rattlesnake!

It's Spinach Time!

There is an unbelievable quote at Regime Change Iran (hat tip Adventures of Chester) from the Secretary of the Iranian Security Council, Hasan Rouhani. He thinks the U.S. does not have the ability to attack Iran!!! Here is the comment I posted there…

“It's spinach time! Everyone who is familiar with Popeye the Sailor knows where we are.

"I've had all that I can stands, I can't stands no more"!

So we should give the residents of the city (surrounding their 1/2 mile deep tunnel for their enrichment centrifuges) 24 hours to get out of "Dodge" and then turn it into a nuclear cinder! Then we can talk. And if the mullahs lack imagination, we can re-broadcast "Indiana Jones" and let them see us laugh as the crazed scimitar wielding, turban wearing nutcase get a .45 slug through the heart.”

It might help if you read my previous posts in chronological order #1, #2, #3 (it's about North Korea but applies to Iran also), #4, #5, & #6. I’ve tried to be reasonable. Even offered “Atoms for Peace”! But the message has not gotten through. So for the last time, I recommend they read the story of Colonel Benjamin Foster and the men of Machias, Maine here & here.

Update 3/7/05 6:17 AM - I noticed that I had failed to include a reference to the tunnel post at Regime Change Blog. Here is the partial text of my comment there (with minor corrections)...

"Impervious to bunker busters? Since Iran is evidently intent on using nuclear blackmail against the whole world as represented by the UN, why not use silo-busters? As in Trident-2 D-5, MARV equipped, SLBMs? Why wait until we face a nuclear oponent while we currently face an asymmetric war with all the advantages?

1)We always end up doing the UN's dirty business anyway.

2)We've already toasted two cities, Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

3)We'll kill fewer people than the Tutsis in Rwanda (or was it the Hutus?).

4)It is easier to ask for forgiveness, than for permission.

5)The number of Americans exposed to hostile fire will be zero.

6) The incremental cost will be zero.

7) And we can always use Iran's oil to buy off the Russians, Chinese & French!"

P.S. The last thing the Iranians want George W. Bush to say is...

"Let's Roll!"

P.P.S. For the unimaginative click here.

"Failed States" Disappearing

A central observation for the success of terrorist organizations has been the plausible deniability of operations in "failed states". Who can we hold responsible if no one is in charge? The Sudan was one such state. And Afghanistan. And Palestine. And now it appears that the Bekaa Valley will be returned to Lebanese sovereignty.

As Queen once put it..."Another one bites the dust!"

Cousin Doug (?) Does It Again!

My likely distant cousin, Doug Hanson, has another brilliant pice in The American Thinker (click above). It seems that the Russians may be deeply involved in all the mischief in Iraq, Syria & Lebanon!

I'm Shocked! Shocked!

The intelligence reports suggest that Russia was the supplier for Saddam's WMD programs, help move them out of the country to Syria and the Bekaa Valley during the early stages of OIF and likely were behind the murder of the Lebanese leader recently, because they feared he had discerned the locations of these WMDs!

Iran Shows Why They're Part of Axis of Evil

Click above for a story (hat tip - Little Green Footballs) stating that Iran has threatened to end all confidence building measures and start processing fuel to make weapons grade material, if the United States succeeds in getting its actions referred to the United Nations Security Council.

What! I thought the whole world wanted the "cowboy" leader" of the United States to act multilaterally through the UN! Why could anyone possibly object? Could it be that they think the HDBTDC Weapon is closer to fruition than they had thought? If it gets used before Iran has a weapon, then they will never get a chance to threaten to "Use it or Lose it". They'll just lose it!

Who's Bluffing Now?

Update 3/6/05 6:23 AM -
I’m going to give my civilian readers a little background on nuclear warfare as taken from the text “The Effects of Nuclear Weapons”, Third Edition, compiled and edited by Samuel Gladstone and Phillip J. Dolan, prepared and published by the United States Department of Defense and the Energy Research and Development Administration…
Table 6.108 on page 267 indicates that a surface burst weapon will collapse “relatively small, heavy, well-designed underground structures” up to 1.25 times the apparent crater radii. Turning to the Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer inside the back cover we discover that the depth of the crater for dry hard rock is estimated at .022 miles (116 feet), the crater radius is estimated at .05 miles (264 feet) and the ejecta radius is estimated at .12 miles (634 feet). So 1.25 times 634 equals 793 feet. (Aside - Does anyone else remember the plan to dig a new sea level canal to replace the Panama Canal with nuclear weapons?)
Now where did that magic 300 kiloton yield number come from? It is the yield for one of the seven Maneuverable Re-Entry Vehicles (MARV) used on the Trident D-5 sub launched ballistic missile carried by the Ohio Class SSBN submarines. Each submarine carries 24 missiles. Way back when the subs were first proposed, the Circular Error Probable (CEP) was 122 meters (400 feet) for the MIRV version. The MARV is more accurate. They weren’t called “silo-busters” for nothing! We could always surface an SSBN close enough for the Iranians to get a good look! Time on target of a couple of minutes!
So here’s the deal. If you don’t want to play nice and you want to defy the whole international community, the United States will volunteer to do the world’s dirty work and shoot the reprocessing equipment out of the bad guy’s hand. It is exactly what you would expect of The Lone Ranger (note the he was a TEXAS Ranger). We know where it is and we have the firepower to accomplish the mission. No bragging here with talk of creating a glow that would let you read your watch at midnight in Teheran! As Joe Friday would put it, “Just the facts”.

Surrender or Die!

Found an interesting letter by Chris Buckley in the American Spectator (click above). Here is my letter in response...

"We should make the grunts of the North Korean Army an offer.

SURRENDER OR DIE (of starvation)!

Tell them they can choose one of the following options

1) Walk home, leaving their posts deserted.
2) Remove their uniform shirt exposing a white t-shirt, walk slowly toward the nearest U.S. or South Korean soldier, and when challenged shout "U-S-A".
3) If they cannot do either of the above, they should find a piece of open ground and arrange some rocks in the form of a "Peace Sign", it sort of looks like a Mercedes hood ornament. We can detect the surrender by satellite.

Once they have all surrendered, we will send in the South Korean troops to take possession and re-unify the country under ROK leadership. Then it is "Miller Time" for U.S. troops, who will be re-stationed in the Good Ole USA! The Korean War will be over. Finally!"

Update 3/4/05 9:35 AM - Added clarifying phrase "(of starvation)" above. The key point here is that we aren't doing anything to the North Korean people that they couldn't resolve by throwing out their dysfunctional government. And they can throw out that government by using their power to refuse to cooperate (think Ghandi, all you pacifists). A small cadre of fanatics cannot control the whole population of the country. So if they hate starving to death, they should turn their hate on the cause of their starvation, their leader!

Bonhomme Richard Group Located!

Click above for Doug Hanson's latest post at The American Thinker (we've decided we aren't second cousins, but probably are distant cousins of some sort).

Be sure to follow his links

http://newshome.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=17181

and you'll see pictures of Bonhomme Richard's LCACs in action. These were the photos you did not get during her tsunami relief operations! These craft were the means to transition from exclusively helicopter operations to larger daily deliveries, what I called UPS (hint- search term "fedex" in Jan archives). This was the middle phase in the Fedex to UPS to Semis transition.

French Commandos to Join Coalition of the Bribed?

Via Adventures of Chester - click above for report of French commandos approaching the Eastern Mediterranean! Will wonders never cease!

"March 1, 2005: Without much publicity, France has moved the replenishment ship Var to the eastern Mediterranean. The Var contains facilities for running commando operations, as well as facilities for about 200 commandoes and their equipment. France apparently believes that the situation in Lebanon is going to get out of control. Since World War II, France has been something of a big brother for Lebanon, especially the Lebanese Christians. This particular relationship goes back some 800 years, to the time of the Crusades. Currently, the Lebanese are out in the streets protesting the continued presence of Syrian troops in the country. If France is going to get involved, it won’t be with a lot of troops. But you can do a lot with a hundred or so commandoes. The Var has previously supported French commandoes operating in Afghanistan."

Detecting Nuclear Materials in Shipping Containers - Yes!

Click above for a Chicago Tribune story (Hat dip - Discarded Lies which once again shows excellent technical skills!) that describes a technological advance which will dramatically improve our Homeland Security through the ability to detect nuclear materials in shipping containers

“Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a muon cosmic ray screening device that can accurately detect smuggled nuclear weapons and materials in any vehicle or container, the nuclear lab reported Tuesday.

The device would provide, according to Los Alamos officials, an enormous advantage over X-ray scanning equipment, which can generate dangerous amounts of radiation and cannot penetrate lead containers and other shielding.

Several test models of the scanner have been built and successfully operated, and work on a full-sized prototype has begun, the laboratory said.

Summer completion expected”

Aside to Evariste - Does she ever slow down enough for you to get a word in edgewise? I never heard anything more about Venice!!!

Red Carpet 2006 - Here We Come!

Click above for Bummer Dietz's "Spun Duckie Woo Woo" post with comments! Here is the text of my comment...

"Hey Bummer! It occurred to me that you must be a "people person" as in "have your people email my people". Does everybody in Hollywood think Amy Lumet is a spun duckie woo woo? Do you know her people?Here's the pitch! She produces a remake of her dad's masterwork - "Network II - The Dan Blather Story"! Starring Jon Stewart as "Dan Blather", Faye Dunaway reprises her Academy Award role as "Mary Japes" yadda, yadda, yadda! So do your "people" thing! Have her people email you as my "people"!"

Hopefully, he'll accept my offer. We could be on the Red Carpet next year. Can you see Amy Lumet with the looks of her mom, Lena Horne, the enhanced bust the whole world saw ("Whatta rack" seems to be the consensus opinion) and an Oscar Winning producer!

Need A Laugh?

Click above to link to a new Hollywood celebrity blog with a sense of humor!

Iran's Rubicon

After linking to yesterday’s post Solving Iran, Tom Lifson at The American Thinker expressed some skepticism that Iran could be so vulnerable to internal forces that it “could withstand a serious American invasion of Iran for only a few days”. That, in turn, caused me to email him with a quite different perspective and ultimately this appeared on The American Thinker. So today, let’s carry on our examination of the situation in Iran.

A key point here is that the United states has been patient with the United Nations, indeed too patient. Just as permissiveness spoils a child, American permissiveness with UN bureaucrats has induced unacceptable behavior and a lack of seriousness at Turtle Bay. The United States has a fine history of advancing the cause of peace there. In a speech there on December 8, 1953, President Eisenhower first proposed an “Atoms for Peace” plan, and in his address he proposed that part of the nuclear stockpiles of the world be donated to an international “bank of fissionable materials”. The result in following years was American lending scientific know-how and some fissionable materials to countries seeking to establish experimental reactors or reactors for generating electricity. What we have gotten for our generosity is treachery! Nations have chosen to pervert the concept “Atoms for Peace” by developing nuclear weapons programs in vainglorius pursuit of power (e.g. Degaulle’s France) or to suppress the will of captive peoples (e.g. the USSR) or to make some cash (e.g. France again) or to settle scores with its neighbors (e.g. India & Pakistan) or to defy the will of the international community of nations (e.g. Iraq, Iran, Libya etc. etc.), or to blackmail others into supporting kleptocracy (e.g. North Korea). The ones using it as a deterrent to aggression are few; the United States itself, Britain and Israel come to mind.
There is a lot of pontificating about “international law” at Turtle Bay. The basic right of a sovereign nation is liberty, especially freedom from occupation. Yet on November 4, 1979, Iranian forces occupied the American Embassy in Teheran. It is still occupied! Indeed, the government of Iran has chosen to make it a “museum” dedicated to the day Iran defied the United States. And just as a rebellious child deserves a good spanking, the government of Iran (the mullahs) need their punishment. Just yesterday, the people of Lebanon showed the world what an energized populace can do in the face of the actions of the insolent mullahs of Iran! One could hope that the people of Iran follow an excellent example, in an effort to appease the citizens of the United States of America. Because that invasion of sovereign territory on November 4, 1979 was a causus belli under international law. There is no need for a United Nations resolution to authorize a response. We can wipe the government of Iran off the face of this earth, at a time of our choosing,. That is not the worst President of the United States currently sitting in the White House. It is one of the best. And those American armed forces currently in Afghanistan and Iraq and around the west coast of the Arabian (nee Persian) Gulf and afloat there and the Arabian Sea are the most powerful war machine in history.
Now it is not in the character of the American people to visit the sins of the father on the son. And it has been a generation since the takeover of our embassy. A new generation has come to maturity in Iran and that generation has a choice. We respectfully submit, they better make the right one.