D-Day June 5

Out Like Flynn

Out Like Michael T. Flynn. The shortest tenure of a National Security Council .... ever. He might as well have given his two-week notice when he got sworn in.

It wasn't so much the lie about Russia that brought him down - it was that he was exposed for the lie. Which is, as we know, worse than the deed itself.

I'm waiting for Trump to pick David Petraeus as his replacement which will be a hilarious episode of our National TrainWreck Reality Show - As you'll remember his sex and email scandal with his biographer which was 10x worse than Hillary's and cost him his job at the CIA. The hypocrisy scale might break when that happens ... but does anyone care anymore?

At this point Meet the Press is almost akin to watching The Walking Dead after show The Talking Dead... 

Uniformly Un-Uniform

An RTB sent me these pictures with a story about how this guy showed up for his Step Dad's graduation from basic training at Fort Benning dressed like this. According to our source, the MPs escorted him off post;

Some of our faithful readers are foaming at the mouth right now, and wondering why the MP's didn't draw their firearms, aren't you?

Gunman shoots four in US Army bus at German airport

Frankfurt - Two men died and two were wounded at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday when a Kosovo-born man opened fire inside a bus carrying US soldiers, apparently after some kind of dispute, German police said.

It was not clear at first if the gunman's motive was political or not. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced shock but said she had received no details yet.

The 21-year-old assailant ran from the scene, but was overpowered and arrested by federal police in the nearby airport terminal.

He shot three US soldiers and the bus driver in the incident, police said. It appeared that the driver, who died slumped over the steering wheel, was also a US serviceman. Merkel described both dead as US soldiers.

Police admitted they were puzzled about how the violence broke out.

The US military was tight-lipped about the incident, but the government of neighbouring Rhineland Palatinate state said the bus had been about to depart for Ramstein Air Force Base in that state, the biggest US military airfield in Europe.

Boris Rhein, interior minister of Hesse state, where the attack occurred, said the suspect was 21, had roots in Kosovo and lived in the Frankfurt area.

At the scene, Rhein stressed that he was not using any words to suggest it was a terrorist attack and was calling the incident a homicide only, but added, 'At the moment, I don't rule anything out.'

Police spokesmen said the incident began inside the military bus. One soldier was found dead on the road in front of the bus. The wounded men were shot in the head and in the chest respectively.

The incident just before 3:20 pm local time (1420 GMT) occurred in a bus lane in a publicly accessible part of the airport outside Frankfurt Terminal 2. Police had no word on how many occupants had been in the bus.

The weapon was a pistol, possibly a revolver, police said.

Merkel said: 'Today there was an incident in which two American soldiers were killed at Frankfurt Airport.

'I want to express my shock and say that we will do all we can to investigate what happened. It is a dreadful incident and Germany will to all it can to bring clarity to this matter.'

Kurt Beck, premier of Rhineland Palatinate, said, 'We will be doing all in our power to protect US citizens in our state.'

US military buses regularly shuttle to the airport from US bases, picking up personnel coming in on commercial flights and dropping off servicemen and servicewomen heading home to the United States.

Operations at the huge airport continued uninterrupted after the incident. The airport is Germany's biggest, serving 119 airlines and processing 150,000 passengers every day. The crime scene was cordoned off as police gathered evidence.

FAIL to WIN

Okay! Okay! I'll take the Thin Mints!

Soldier Refused to Leave Fallen Fort Hood Comrade

A wounded soldier with a clear path to the exit refused to leave his fallen comrade behind even as a gunman fired off shots near them during last year's deadly rampage at the Fort Hood Army post, a military court heard Thursday.

Spc. Alan Carroll said he had been shot in the arm but that as soon as he realized the chaos unfolding around him wasn't a training exercise he had to concentrate on helping a more seriously wounded fellow soldier.

"The only person I could see from ground was Pfc. [Aaron Thomas] Nemelka," Spc. Carroll said to the Article 32 hearing via a live video link from Kandahar, Afghanistan. "I told him it was not training and to get down."

Spc. Carroll was subsequently shot in the back and leg, but said he could have reached the door. Nevertheless, his training prevented him from escaping the bloodshed without Pfc. Nemelka.

"I'd been told never leave a fallen comrade. That's what was going through my mind. I needed to get out, but I needed to get him out with me," said Spc. Carroll, who was deployed to Afghanistan 10 months ago.

Read more ....

This is what bravery is. This is what good soldiering is. It's not drones and satellite tech - it's comradeship. He doesn't need a medal - he needs to be teaching our armed forces what it's all about.

All the best to Spc. Carroll!

And to anyone who reads this account still believes it was just a random act of violence, I'd love to hear your explanation.

Soldiers Punished for Not Attending Christian Concert

Being marched off to a 'concert' for Spiritual Fitness is not only infuriating, unfair, it's also Un Constitutional. At what point were the soldiers rights not violated, exactly?

If the event were held off post, and promoted as something to do in downtime - that's one thing. This was not 'voluntary.'

Religious concerts should not be sponsored by the military or any government agency. Having such concerts on post is a form of sponsorship of religion -- and that's exactly what our troops are supposed to be fighting against.

Sounds more like the Salvation Army than the US Army.

Original Article

Genie Back In the Bottle?

Pentagon Demands Documents Back From Wikileaks, Wants Files Deleted

The Pentagon demanded that Wikileaks hand over classified Afghanistan war documents published leaked to the website.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell at Thursday's briefing said "the only acceptable course" is for Wikileaks to turn some 15,000 documents still being reviewed by the website back to the U.S. government and delete all the files from its website pertaining to the original nearly 92,000 documents posted July 25.

Read more ....

I'm guessing that the Pentagon doesn't understand how this whole internet thingy works?

Thousands of Soldiers As Symbols of Liberty

Photographs taken by photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas. These photos display tens of thousands of American soldiers posing as symbols of American history.

Literal and metaphoric at the same time.

Here's a link to more of these.

Peace Brings Turmoil. What?

Afghanistan In Turmoil After Peace Talk Rumors

Pakistan proposes peace talks between Hamid Karzai and a notorious insurgent commander triggering political tensions.

Pakistani proposals for peace talks between President Hamid Karzai and a notorious insurgent commander have triggered political tensions inside Afghanistan that analysts warn could dangerously destabilize the country.

Western officials say Pakistan's ISI spy agency has offered to negotiate with Sirajuddin Haqqani – an al-Qaida linked commander accused of numerous suicide attacks – as part of a broader initiative to find a find a settlement to the conflict.

Read more ....

Update: Afghan talks raise speculation -- Al Jazeera

Afghanistan's minority groups are clearly upset with these developments, but CIA Director Panetta's skepticism on the success of these talks is probably right.

Pakistan is trying to broker a deal in order to have a say in future peace and reconciliation talks in Afghanistan. To get to the table they are threatening the Haqqani network that if they do not try to resolve their differences with the Kabul Government, Pakistani forces will be launched against their safe havens on the Pakistan-Afghan border, which is why they're sitting down to start talking.

To reconcile with an enemy that you regard is a puppet of the infidels is something that the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies do not do - it will be an affront to their religious convictions. But they've show they can turn those on and off when it is convenient for them.

This is all theater and show, and buys time before Pakistani forces attack Haqqani camps on their side of the Pakistan border.

Thanks to our good friends @ War News Update for the Post

Oh, and speaking of Afghanistan --

U.S. Officials Say Karzai Aides Are Derailing Corruption Cases Involving Elite

Not even Mayor Daley of Chicago has this kind of clout. Top officials in President Hamid Karzai's government have repeatedly derailed corruption investigations of politically connected Afghans, according to U.S. officials who have provided Afghanistan's authorities with wiretapping technology and other assistance in efforts to crack down on endemic graft.

In recent months, the U.S. officials said, Afghan prosecutors and investigators have been ordered to cross names off case files, prevent senior officials from being placed under arrest and disregard evidence against executives of a major financial firm suspected of helping the nation's elite move millions of dollars overseas.
Read more ....

I suppose if you're skimming billions off of the Americans, and you bribe the Americans back with those same dollars - you can do anything? No?

The Week In Review - Sunday Comics

Yesterday there was a protest against oil in Washington DC and also "hands across the sands" which was a bunch of white people holding hands on their beach front property. Many of them had green hard hats on, which meant they wanted 'clean' energy. Of note, were the green hard hats which were made of plastic. Which is made of petroleum. Goddamn it people.

And why does America need 20 million barrels of oil A DAY?
Yeah, it's a joke about the sweatshop that made the iPhone 4, but the reality is that it's our waiting-in-line attitude and cult-ish worship of the newest and shiniest new gadget rolled out on top of the pile of pointless consumerism and one-up-manship of the Joneses. But on the bright side, this lifestyle is completely unsustainable. Just ask everyone looking for employment.

That recovery is going great! Right?! I mean, every country in the world is following Mr. Obama's advice and driving their countries into crippling debt and dependence? What? they're not? They're standing up to him? Oh, Greece scared the living crap out of everyone? Really?

And as the G8 gets around to condemning North Korea for continuing to fight the Korean War, with a mildly worded letter, the good old fashioned protesting in Toronto is being led by Tyler Durden... no, really.

No. I mean, really. That's not shopped.

What a week. See you next time.

Breaking Even

House Panel Rejects A Plan To Shift Detainees To Illinois (NY Times)

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee has dealt a blow to President Obama’s hopes to shutter the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by unanimously approving legislation that would prohibit creating a detention center inside the United States.

The administration had asked Congress to approve about $350 million to buy and renovate a nearly empty prison in Thomson, Ill. The White House plan was to empty Guantánamo and transfer its detainees to Illinois — including 48 who would be held without trial as wartime prisoners. Read more

When Mr. Obama announced a year ago that that his first executive order was to close Guantanamo prison, I mentioned that I was very skeptical that such an order will be carried out. A year and a half later, with little fanfare, President Obama's fellow Democrats in Congress have killed this executive order.

But it doesn't matter since, due to a major court ruling -

Court Rules that No Habeas Rights For Prisoners In Afghanistan (LA TIMES)

Obama wins what Bush tried so hard to get... the right to hold suspects without judicial oversight at the Bagram air base.

The Obama administration has won the legal right to hold its terrorism suspects indefinitely and without oversight by judges — not at Guantanamo or in Illinois, mind you, but rather at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. appeals court in Washington ruled for the administration Friday and said the Constitution and its right to habeas corpus does not extend to foreign prisoners held by the U.S. military in Afghanistan because it is a war zone. The judges dismissed claims from three prisoners who were taken to Bagram from Pakistan and Thailand and have been held for as long as seven years. Read more

Another milestone looming is the complete and total U.S. drawdown from Iraq is coming in August. Wonder if we'll hit that marker, or if they'll somehow find a reason to stick around?

Mission Accomplished

Gentlemen, we have achieved success in the battlefield. Yes, our precious cargo has returned safely to us. Now, who's got the key to this thing?

The Week In Review/Sunday Comics

This isn't news. Stop looking at it, maybe it'll go away. Everyone is sorry that they got caught.

Dirty Cheater Olympics.
Mrs. Obama is tackling the obesity problem. Part of that 'freedom' take-away they're instituting. Free to be a fat ass. The best part is, the cost of food has fallen, but the price of medical care is skyrocketing? Correlating evidence? You bet.



Epic Beard Man took on some dude on a bus. Seth MacFarlane Responds to Sarah Palin's Attacks after having a down syndrome character on Family Guy.

Meanwhile, the Marines are taking Afghanistan, one mile at a time - (no one seems to have noticed) and the CIA is striking the Taliban senior leadership one #2 at a time. (no one seems to have noticed this either).

There's a Blaspheme's Convention, and I've disappointed the host by not attending. I can give excuses and real reasons why I was unable to attend, but no matter what I say - it's nothing more than a lousy excuse.

So instead I'll complain that humanity isn't reaching for the stars anymore.

Reminder

Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

Armistice Signed, End Of The War! Berlin Seized By Revolutionists; New Chancellor Begs For Order

War Ends at 6 O'clock This Morning

The State Department in Washington Made the Announcement at 2:45 o'Clock

ARMISTICE WAS SIGNED IN FRANCE AT MIDNIGHT

Terms Include Withdrawal from Alsace-Lorraine, Disarming and Demobilization of Army and Navy, and Occupation of Strategic Naval and Military Points

Fort Hood

Fort Hood suspect shouted 'Allāhu Akbar' or 'God is great!'

The death toll from the shooting rampage at Fort Hood has risen to 13. The "suspect" in the killings, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, (Major Pile) remains hospitalized on a ventilator with gunshot wounds. Witnesses allege that Hasan shouted "God is Great" in Arabic when he opened fire on fellow soldiers. Relatives say the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist fought his scheduled deployment to Iraq later this month.

Mr. Obama says, 'Don't jump to conclusions on Ft. Hood gunman.' Okay, well maybe he'll invite the gunman and the female cop who shot him over to the White House for a beer? Nidal will probably have a near-beer, since he's nearly-dead.

My initial reaction, like so many after hearing the Major's name, was that Nidal was some kind of a sleeper agent laying in wait... much like the hijackers who perpetrated the 9-11 attacks and the London bombings... or 24. Well, it is legit, and it's another lesser known version of Holy Jihad. It's a fitnah which is Arabic for “trial” or “test.”

In the Islamic tradition, trials or temptations that test the unity of the Muslim community. The term may be used to describe insurrection or civil warfare or, more specifically, to define a tribunal over doctrinal issues. But, look, that's just mild speculation and on the fringe of reality. It is the ledge of conspiracy-think. The idea that he was a sleeper agent deep-deep under cover, and using his position to help shell shocked Army veterans is much more romantically diabolical. Make the Army question their resolve when in the weakest members of the ranks - that's Dr. Mindbender kind of thinking. Make the Joes question their mission.

But his mission changed, and now he was going to the front. Oh, oh - time for plan B.

Or he was just bat shiat nuts. Or, shiat, why can't he be Both?

But what's really been on my mind about it, is the lack of discussion about it.

Obama's comment was so short it - it was shorter than a weather report. The media completely disregarded the story and also the idea of the greater storyline.

Also, in my tiny two celled mind, there's a strange correlation between six Muslim men wanting to attack Fort Dix.

The plan to attack the Fort Dix Army Base in New Jersey just two years ago. They wanted to "kill as many soldiers as possible!"

Those Five Muslim immigrants accused of scheming to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix were convicted of conspiracy in a case that tested the FBI's post-Sept. 11 strategy of infiltrating and breaking up terrorist plots in their earliest stages.

Maybe Maj. Pile was - maybe he wasn't. Shouldn't we look into it?

Happy Veterans Day.

UPDATE: Joe Lieberman agrees with me.

Sen. Joe Lieberman called the Fort Hood massacre an act of "Islamist extremism" - even as top Army brass warned Sunday against guessing at a motive, fearing backlash against Muslim soldiers.

"There are very, very strong warning signs here that Dr. Hasan had become an Islamist extremist and, therefore, that this was a terrorist act," Lieberman (I-Conn) told Fox News on Sunday.

"If the reports that we're receiving of various statements he made, acts he took are valid, he had turned to Islamist extremism." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11

Thrilled.

Confused in Afghanistan

President Obama’s national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan do not pose a direct threat to the United States, officials said Wednesday.

Well. How about a fuggin' parade for the troops then, Mr. President?

Or, hold on, are these the same assholes who said Iran wouldn't ever get the bomb?

We're going to have to decide what our priorities are in there - are we going to try to Nation build, or are we looking to put some McDonald's restaurants in there? They've already figured out ballot fraud, but what's the end game. If you're to trust this group of suits who have the President's ear, George already mopped them up.

But being the bipolar child that America is - Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has argued that success demands a substantial expansion of the American presence, up to 40,000 more troops.

Meanwhile Biden has been mouthing off that more troops in Afghanistan is silly and wants to concentrate of Pakistan. But Hillary and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have both warned that the Taliban remain linked to Al Qaeda and would give their fighters havens again if the Taliban regained control of all or large parts of Afghanistan, making it a mistake to think of them as separate problems.

I'm confused. Mission Accomplished, or we'll lose the war? Which is it?

Wanna bet that Obama's hair turns white in before the end of his first term?

Birther Rebuffs Army and Bama: Updates and New Developments

Retired general, lieutenant colonel join reservist’s lawsuit over Obama's birth status
By Lily Gordon

A controversial suit brought by a U.S. Army reservist (see our previous story here at Blasphemes: Birther Rebuffs Army and Bama) has been joined by a retired Army two-star general and an active reserve Air Force lieutenant colonel.

Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook filed the suit July 8 in federal court asking for conscientious objector status and a preliminary injunction based upon his belief that President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as president of the United States and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

However, before the issue got to court, Cook’s orders to deploy to Afghanistan were revoked. Lt. Col. Maria Quon, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command-St. Louis, said Tuesday that Cook was no longer expected to report Wednesday to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida for mobilization to active duty. Cook, who claims he is now the victim of retaliation due to his suit, received his mobilization orders to report for active duty at MacDill on Wednesday. From there, he was to go to Fort Benning on Saturday for deployment to Afghanistan.

Cook is an Individual Mobilization Augmentee. This means he’s a reserve soldier assigned to an active component unit consisting of active duty soldiers instead of a reserve unit, which is composed entirely of reserve soldiers. He is assigned to the U.S. Army Element of U.S. Southern Command.

As you'll remember, Cook filed a request in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector represented by California attorney Orly Taitz - who is also a 'birther'.

The government, in its response to the suit, claims that Cook’s suit is “moot” in that he already has been told he doesn’t have to go to Afghanistan, so the relief he is seeking has been granted.

“The Commanding General of SOCCENT (U.S. Special Operations Central Command) has determined that he does not want the services of Major Cook, and has revoked his deployment orders,” the response states.

In a pleading revised after the revocation of Cook’s orders, Taitz argues that the application for preliminary injunction is not moot and that retired Maj. Gen. Carol Dean Childers and active U.S. Air Force reservist Lt. Col. David Earl Graeff have joined the suit “because it is a matter of unparalleled public interest and importance and because it is clearly a matter arising from issues of a recurring nature that will escape review unless the Court exercises its discretionary jurisdiction.”

Cook’s resubmitted Application for Preliminary Injunction is meant to encompass the possibility of Cook receiving future orders for deployment as well as to address and prevent “negative collateral consequences such as retaliation against Major Stefan Frederick Cook ...”

As to the retaliation issue, the revised suit states Cook lost his job at Simtech Inc., a corporation that does Department of Defense contracting in the field of information technology/systems integration, because of the suit. It also states that Cook has been subjected to “gossip” from people who believed Cook was “manipulating his deployment orders to create a platform for political purposes.”

Taitz, who has challenged the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency in other courts, filed the original suit with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Two similar suits have previously been thrown out of federal court.

In the filing, Cook states he “would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President’s command. … simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties.”

A hearing to discuss Cook’s requests is scheduled to take place in federal court.

More updates to follow, as very few other people are following this story.

Birther Rebuffs Army and Bama

The Army has revoked the Afghanistan deployment orders for Army reservist Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, the plaintiff in a lawsuit arguing that President Obama has no authority to send him to war because, he believes, Obama is not a “natural-born citizen” and thus not eligible to be president. Cook’s lawyer, leading “birther” Orly Taitz, said the Army’s move is proof that Obama was not born in Hawaii. Whoa. Really?

If the military isn’t backing Obama’s legitimacy as commander-in-chief, then all the sudden this is a real issue, right? If Obama wants to quash this growing controversy, all he has to do is release his “true ‘long-form’ birth certificate,” as Cook requested. Against all possible logic, Cook has a point... It would be illegal for him to follow an 'illegitimate' president’s orders.

However, since it is a "volunteer" army - and Stefan volunteered - he's likely AWOL now. But why would anyone want to pursue this in a court martial? the Army probably just doesn't want to deal with the politics of the "birther" crowd, or worse. It doesn't make Obama look clean to let Stefan out... but doesn't want to keep this thing in the news or talk about it. And if he does, then it's to make the right wing look even more desperate and nutty than usual.

Or, perhaps Stefan has found the solution to the age old Army problem of the Catch 22? The solution? He turned it around on his superiors.