Banned

Furguson MO

I was just scanning some news and thinking about stuff before heading out on a beer run (it's been a busy weekend). Then I saw the following picture of Furguson MO.

Well, I'll be damned if it didn't remind me of this publicity still from the original (and only IMHO) Red Dawn...

What's more striking, is that there's even more firepower on the streets of Missouri than there ever was in that fictional little Colorado town.

It's funny, how some folks are surprised by the weaponization of the local police forces in the last ten years - and how they're only just now starting to blink about it. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) stepped up to a microphone and yelled "Told you so!" for about a half an hour the other day. What's extra stupid is that Rand Paul is now in the center of both sides of the discussion. Center.

Hopefully folks will re-examine the policies and the politics that got us to Furguson right now. But I'll go on and keep hoping for that... meantime, when the President of the United States asks why citizens need AR-15's in their homes, we all now have a legitimate answer. Look out your backdoor.

Don't Mess with Toys For Tots

Click the picture to make bigger. The last paragraph, tells the whole story.

WBC Attacked, Not Good for Bill of Rights

The Westboro Baptist Church arrived in Brandon, Mississippi, to picket the funeral of Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers who was killed in action in Afghanistan.

However, a series of events reportedly kept the WBC from doing any actual protesting: A WBC member was beaten by locals at a gas station; Rankin County pickup trucks strategically blocked Kansas-plated cars outside the WBC’s hotel; protesters that made it to the funeral were “ushered away to be questioned” under cover of an alleged involvement in a crime.

The source of the report is a lone member of the Ole Miss message board The Oxford Square, and the account is nowhere to be found in mainstream media outlets, but it’s interesting to note that the controversial nature of the tactics supposedly employed to prevent the WBC from protesting Rogers’ funeral — namely the beating and the questionable detainment — has forced Redditors and MeFites to do something they likely find as repugnant as the WBC: Defend the WBC.

WBC is among the most despicable hate groups operating in the US today. As such, they are our generation’s litmus test of whether we really believe in the Bill of Rights. If you agree that they should be beaten up and detained by police on false pretenses then the answer is simple, you don’t.

It was really only a matter of time until this happened. They've been baiting this - so now they'll take everyone to court, sue for damages against their assailants, the police department, and everyone else within a 60 mile radius of the alleged events. And the stupid part - Fred and the WBC will win.

[blackfive / reddit / mefi]

Honor

Atheists in Foxholes

Army Group Says There ARE Atheists in Foxholes

In fact, atheists, agnostics, humanists and other assorted skeptics from the Army's Fort Bragg have formed an organization in a pioneering effort to win recognition and ensure fair treatment for nonbelievers in the overwhelmingly Christian U.S. military.

"We exist, we're here, we're normal," said Sgt. Justin Griffith, chief organizer of Military Atheists and Secular Humanists, or MASH. "We're also in foxholes. That's a big one, right there."

For now, the group meets regularly in homes and bars outside of Fort Bragg, one of the biggest military bases in the country. But it is going through the long bureaucratic process to win official recognition from the Army as a distinct "faith" group.

That would enable it to meet on base, advertise its gatherings and, members say, serve more effectively as a haven for like-minded soldiers.

"People look at you differently if you say you're an atheist in the Army," said Lt. Samantha Nicoll, a West Point graduate who in January attended her first meeting of MASH. "That's extremely taboo. I get a lot of questions if I let it slip in conversation."

Read More...

The term, by the way, comes from Reverend William T. Cummings, who served at Bataan. He declared, "There are no atheists in foxholes." In addition, Lieutenant Colonel Warren J. Clear, who also served at Bataan, used the expression in an interview printed in U.S. newspapers.

Chaplain F.W. Lawson of the 302d Machine Gun Battalion, who was wounded twice in wartime, declared "I doubt if there is such a thing as an atheist. At least there isn't in a front line trench." Henry More wrote: "In agony or danger, no nature is atheist. The mind that knows not what to fly to, flies to God."

Why I'm Against US/Libyan Intervention

I've been against the bombing of Libya before I was against it.

I'm completely confused and alarmed by the seemingly haphazard insanity that Mr. Obama's approach to this particular situation, the way it's transpired, and what the long term implications are and will be.

I have, amazingly, more than one reason for my opinion.

First off, the lazy Susan of the political game has now completely turned back to the Democrats. Now they are the war-mongers. Even the biased main stream media feeds are thumping their fists into their anchor desks making wild rationals that their Commander in Chief is right -- and that multinational intervention in an oil-producing Arab country, without prior congressional approval or majority public support is A-OK. But even eight years ago, George Bush got the support of Congress - he made the Democrats sign off on it before he went in. He even had the UN support, if by only the stack of resolutions and declarations.*

*Note that prior to 2002, the UN Security Council had passed 16 resolutions on Iraq. In 2002, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441: offering Iraq under Saddam Hussein "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" that had been set out in several previous resolutions.

And let's also note this is while we're still engaged in that war - and Afghanistan, now this is going on while we're racking up deficits. Who's paying for it? The Arab League? What's amazing is that the media and folks who I consider "Progressives" are actually saying, “my president, right or wrong,” styled gibberish that they were falling all over themselves to mock eight short years ago.

And then there's General Joe Biden and Mr. Obama themselves. Joe and Mr. Obama were the quickest to get on a milk crate to yell that George W. Bush’s antiterrorism policies and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was more partisan than principled. Mr. Obama was against, "stupid wars." But Mr. Obama, as President, not only embraced but also expanded the tribunals, preventive detentions, renditions, Predator attacks, intercepts and wiretaps, he also hasn't closed Guantanamo Bay.

Take it a step further - now he can preemptively attack an Arab oil-exporting country without fear of his base, Hollywood, threats of congressional cutoffs, MoveOn.org “General Betray Us”, Cindy Sheehan, or the main stream media. In short, Obama has effectively and determinately ended the antiwar movement. Of course, this author would say that none of the anti-war movement had any affect on the current wars anyway. Why? Well, one, we're engaged in three active shooting wars right now! But more importantly is that it's my contention that as long as the US military remains a volunteer Army, the argument that, "they signed up for it," will prevent any real passion or 'skin-in-the-game' for the general American public.

PS - Iran, Syria, and even North Korea. Just a suggestion - but you better watch your ass.

Then there's Europe. It's been the European role to egg America on to fight their enemies and turn their head and complain that the Cowboy Policeman is an aggressive thug. It's their PR move to look like they're above it all.

But in this one, even the French got into it before the US. I'm sure the oil and all their dealings with Quadaffy have something to do with it. But the dynamic of NATO calling the shots, while 90% of NATO is American, but America doesn't want to play -- is baffling. It's against character.

Don't worry, I'm sure they'll still slap the 'Imperialism' logo on this thing if it goes south. Funny thing with these good intentioned 'kinetic military actions' is that they almost ALWAYS do.

And what, pray-tell, will happen when we don't intervene in the next protest movement in the Middle East? What about the other two wars in Africa - that are happening simultaneously? Sure they're civil wars, but don't we now have a moral obligation to protect the innocent civilians? How much will that cost?

I guess it depends if there's an oil field near the killing field.

If you want to be against this war, marching in the streets won't do it. You need to get off the oil. Stop driving so damn much, and quit buying plastic things.

This STRATFOR chart shows every energy and oil installation in Libya, offshore and on.
Every one is a European-owned entity.
[Click To Enlarge]

The Gathering Storm

The Tipping Point In The Indo-Pacific

Twenty years from now, we'll look back to see how we got here.... an interesting article, and fun read about China's continued growth and influence in Asia and what it would mean to U.S. influence.

"Sino-American relations have been spiraling down into a hostile dialectic for more than­ a decade. The two sides have grown increasingly uncomfortable with their complex, ever-evolving but seemingly inescapable economic interdependence. China will not relent in its aggressive, mercantilist currency policies, but the Fed and the Treasury, ever in need of Chinese capital to finance America’s debt, have never pushed the issue to the wall. The two sides have displayed their ideological differences as Chinese restrictions on civil rights continue. They have sparred, too, over points of honor and prestige in international forums and, episodically, over the future of Taiwan.

But the underlying source of the current deterioration in the bilateral relationship is the competition for influence in the Indo-Pacific commons, that broad swath reaching from the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern coast of Africa, which both sides consider central to their standing in the region and to global perceptions of their power. After nearly a decade’s worth of threat-making, strained diplomatic ties and below-the-radar games of chicken, U.S. and Chinese naval ships now stand prow-to-prow in the East China Sea, minutes from battle over a seemingly meaningless incident."

Read more

Bush Compared to Obama on War Planning

"Obama's defenders insist that what he did in starting the Libya war is not as bad as what President George W. Bush did in starting the Iraq war.

True: In some ways, what Obama did is worse." (reason.com)

The TL;DR:

"Bush made the case for removing Hussein over months. Bush got approval from Congress. Bush acted against a dictator who aspired to acquire nuclear weapons. He invaded a country of large strategic value. He stated plainly the purpose of the invasion.

Obama did none of those things. He rushed into a war, ignoring Congress, to punish a ruler who had abandoned his nuclear ambitions, in a country of peripheral importance."

And in a kind of similar related news... Only 17% Of Americans See President Obama As A Strong And Decisive Military Leader.

Maybe it's because he names his wars after crappy Asia records, and it's not a war - It's a Kinetic Military Action.

Libyan March Into Maddness

Germans Pull Forces Out Of NATO As Libyan Coalition Falls Apart

* Tensions with Britain as Gates rebukes UK government over suggestion Gaddafi could be assassinated

* French propose a new political 'committee' to oversee operations

* Germany pulls equipment out of NATO coalition over disagreement over campaign's direction

* Italians accuse French of backing NATO in exchange for oil contracts

* No-fly zone called into question after first wave of strikes 'neutralises' Libyan military machine

* U.K. ministers say war could last '30 years'

* Italy to 'take back control' of bases used by allies unless NATO leadership put in charge of the mission

* Russians tell U.S. to stop bombing in order to protect civilians - calls bombing a 'crusade'

Deep divisions between allied forces currently bombing Libya worsened today as the German military announced it was pulling forces out of NATO over continued disagreement on who will lead the campaign.

A German military spokesman said it was recalling two frigates and AWACS surveillance plane crews from the Mediterranean, after fears they would be drawn into the conflict if NATO takes over control from the U.S.

Read more ....

WTF?

Who's in charge? Not ME!! Nato is falling apart - expect Italy to pull out next, which means fewer airbases to launch aircraft from... and frankly, 12 minutes into this thing, wasn't the Libyan air threat pretty well bombed to submission? Libya: A No-Fly Zone In A Country With Virtually No Air Force. At what point were the bad guys supposed to just throw their AK-47's into the sand and run away? Hey, Europe, you've got a memory problem just like the US has -- The lessons in Bosnia are already forgotten?

The best part is how quickly the rhetoric has flipped the Lazy-Susan. Republicans traded papers with the Democrats to shout about how illegal this action is... oh, wait? Some of the Democrats are actually consistent and are keeping their anti-Iraq scripts too? Well, good for them. I like to see consistency rather than hypocrisy.

Obama's Change

Just four short years, the freshman Senator from Illinois said the following about using America's military force:

2. In what circumstances, if any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? (Specifically, what about the strategic bombing of suspected nuclear sites — a situation that does not involve stopping an IMMINENT threat?)

The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.

As for the specific question about bombing suspected nuclear sites, I recently introduced S.J. Res. 23, which states in part that “any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.” The recent NIE tells us that Iran in 2003 halted its effort to design a nuclear weapon. While this does not mean that Iran is no longer a threat to the United States or its allies, it does give us time to conduct aggressive and principled personal diplomacy aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Uh, Mr. Obama? Call me silly, but doesn’t that statement mean that your own decision to authorize action against Libya is prohibited by Constitution?

I guess Change meant you Changed your mind?

The Ultimate Rifle

Deadly: The 'gunfire locator' is mounted to the rifle to detect the sound of enemy bullets being fired. Experts predict that the device could save the lives of hundreds of British troops

The Ultimate Rifle: British Snipers To Be Armed With Supergun That Pinpoints The Enemy By 'Hearing Bullets'

* 'Gunfire locator' uses sonar to calculate the enemy's position in little more than one second
* Cross-hairs on target screen show sniper where to return fire
* Sensor has been developed using same technology as Nintendo Wii games

A supergun that targets enemy snipers by the sound of their gunfire is being trialled by British soldiers, it emerged today.

The 'gunfire locator' is fitted next to the scopes of rifles which uses sonar to calculate an enemy's position within 1.3 seconds.

Paratroopers even field-tested the device by offering themselves as targets to Taliban insurgents last weekend in order to draw out the fire.

Read more ....

Thank you War News Update!

General Petraeus Admits That His Son Has Served In Afghanistan

Here's a man who has put a personal stake into this conflict. General David Petraeus revealed his son Stephen has recently completed a 'secret' combat tour as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

2nd Lieutenant Stephen Petraeus served as platoon commander with 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Read more ....

I wish and DARE more leaders to do exactly this with their own sons and daughters. Nay, I DEMAND it.

General Petraeus - please, pretty please, run for higher office. We need leaders like you. I only wish you were the rule, not the exception.

Let's Fall Back to a More Strategic Location

Radiation: Crew on helicopters returning to the USS Ronald Reagan were contaminated after delivering aid. Photo from The Daily Mail

After Contamination, U.S. Military Fleet Repositions

U.S. Navy officials in Japan announced early today that they have repositioned their 7th Fleet after 17 Navy personnel aboard three helicopters tested positive for low levels of contamination from a radioactive plume that rose above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Read more ....

Who is Bradley Manning, really?

Who is Bradley Manning and what do you know about him? If all you hear is the main stream media, probably not very much.

Earlier this week, the soldier accused of leaking thousands of confidential documents to WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, was handed an additional 22 charges as part of his ongoing court martial process. The 23-year-old, who has been in solitary confinement for more than seven months, stands accused of computer fraud, theft of public records and willfully communicating classified information to a person not entitled to receive it. He now also finds himself faced with a rare charge known as “aiding the enemy” – a capital offence for which he could face the death penalty.

Lots of stories this past week on blogs and alternative websites about him being stripped naked in his cell and worse (solitary for months, etc).

Apparently, guards are forcing Bradley Manning to strip in his cell—a humiliation tactic guards use in Guantanamo Bay. A spokesman for the Marines referred to this as, “standard operating procedure.”

Could the President who stopped torture and wanted Gitmo closed be so bold as to move it here? Can’t be!

Given these circumstances, the decision to strip PFC Manning of his clothing every night for an indefinite period of time is clearly punitive in nature. There is no mental health justification for the decision. There is no basis in logic for this decision. PFC Manning is under 24 hour surveillance, with guards never being more than a few feet away from his cell. PFC Manning is permitted to have his underwear and clothing during the day, with no apparent concern that he will harm himself during this time period. Moreover, if Brig officials were genuinely concerned about PFC Manning using either his underwear or flip-flops to harm himself (despite the recommendation of the Brig’s psychiatrist) they could undoubtedly provide him with clothing that would not, in their view, present a risk of self-harm.

Is it possible that Manning doesn’t exist? The CIA released the docs to Wikileaks to embarrass Hillary, certain governments, etc, and Manning is a cover story. Where are the interviews with family and friends? And how come no one has asked that such a low level soldier could get such easy access to just these particular materials? If that's true, how come this doesn't happen all the time - or maybe it has, and they're just gluing it all on this Manning construct?

Just tossing that out there. Happy Monday, commuters.

Westboro and the First Amendment

1st Amendment protects military funeral protesters

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount anti-gay protests outside military funerals, despite the pain they cause grieving families.

The court voted 8-1 in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Justice Samuel Alito dissented.

Roberts said free speech rights in the First Amendment shield the funeral protesters, noting that they obeyed police directions and were 1,000 feet from the church.

"Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and — as it did here — inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker," Roberts said. "As a nation we have chosen a different course — to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."

Alito strongly disagreed. "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case," he said.

Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the United States for burial. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have picketed military funerals for several years, decided to protest outside the Westminster, Md., church where his funeral was to be held.

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his family members who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church have picketed many military funerals in their quest to draw attention to their incendiary view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

They showed up with their usual signs, including "Thank God for dead soldiers," "You're Going to Hell," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," and one that combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.

The church members drew counter-demonstrators, as well as media coverage and a heavy police presence to maintain order. The result was a spectacle that led to altering the route of the funeral procession.

Several weeks later, Albert Snyder was surfing the Internet for tributes to his son from other soldiers and strangers when he came upon a poem on the church's website that attacked Matthew's parents for the way they brought up their son.

Soon after, Snyder filed a lawsuit accusing the Phelpses of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. He won $11 million at trial, later reduced by a judge to $5 million.

The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict and said the Constitution shielded the church members from liability.

Forty-eight states, 42 U.S. senators and veterans groups sided with Snyder, asking the court to shield funerals from the Phelps family's "psychological terrorism."

While distancing themselves from the church's message, media organizations, including The Associated Press, urged the court to side with the Phelps family because of concerns that a victory for Snyder could erode speech rights.

Roberts described the court's holding as narrow, and in a separate opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer suggested in other circumstances, governments would not be "powerless to provide private individuals with necessary protection."

But in this case, Breyer said, it would be wrong to "punish Westboro for seeking to communicate its views on matters of public concern."

Margie Phelps, a daughter of the minister and a lawyer who argued the case at the Supreme Court, said she expected the outcome. "The only surprise is that Justice Alito did not feel compelled to follow his oath," Phelps said. "We read the law. We follow the law. The only way for a different ruling is to shred the First Amendment."

She also offered her church's view of the decision. "I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but here's the core point: The wrath of God is pouring onto this land. Rather than trying to shut us up, use your platforms to tell this nation to mourn for your sins."

Cut'n'pasted

A Quick Note from Libya

Thank's, but we got this. Stay the hell out.

Mubarak Leaves

Mubarak Leaves Cairo as Military Asserts Control

The Egyptian military appeared to assert its leadership Friday amid growing indications that President Hosni Mubarak was yielding all power. A Western diplomat said that Mr. Mubarak had left the capital for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, about 250 miles from Cairo.

As protesters were swarming into the streets Friday morning for what was expected to be the biggest and most volatile demonstrations in the three-week revolt here, the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces issued a statement over state television and radio indicating that the military, not Mr. Mubarak, was in effective control of the country. It was unclear whether the military would take meaningful steps toward democracy or begin a military dictatorship.

Western diplomats said that officials of the Egyptian government were scrambling to assure that a muddled speech Mr. Mubarak made on Thursday night that enraged protesters had in fact signaled his irrevocable handover of presidential
authority.

Read More:

UPDATE: BREAKING: President Mubarak Resigns

Unified Quest 2011

Ever since the crash of 2008 the defense intelligence establishment has really been paying a lot of attention to global markets and how they can serve as a threat to U.S. national security interests. At one upcoming seminar next month they’re taking a look at a lot of the issues.

source: see the CNBC video report provided

According to the report, the Army has spent time on financial market trading floors with JP Morgan and others, in the hopes that they can learn more about how a financial and economic attack may occur, and what the ramifications of such attacks on US stocks and bonds may be.

The Army, in a year-long war games series called Unified Quest 2011, is looking at a variety of possibilities and how to deal with them, including:

* the implications of “large scale economic breakdown” inside of the United States
* how to maintain “domestic order amid civil unrest”
* and ways to deal with fragmented global power and drastically lower budgets

Wait, we're on the road to recovery - everything is fine - we're all good now. Right? Right? Why do I have the feeling the US government is a combination of Kevin Bacon and Chief Wiggum waving their arms in front of the fireworks display assuring us "There's nothing to see here" ?

Dear Blasphemes readers... time to learn how to grow your own food.

Don't Ask, Still

Defense Bill With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Falls Short in Senate

The Senate has turned down the attempt to move to final debate and votes on a defense bill that would repeal "don't ask, don't tell." The vote was 57-40, three short of the 60 needed.

Senator Harry Reid, called a key procedural vote on repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy despite having failed to reach agreement with Republicans to proceed.

Republicans have indicated that without an agreement about the number of amendments and the timing of the debate, they would vote against moving forward to vote on the legislation.

Mr. Reid conceded that that the failure to reach an agreement could doom the effort to repeal the policy, which has been a key priority for Mr. Obama and gay activists.