Sunday, June 29, 2014
The final report on the Asiana crash blames the pilots who were “over reliant” on automation for the cause of the crash.
In the old days pilots controlled everything. When they made mistakes (and planes crashed) the pilots were blamed.
So over the years they added lots of automation so pilots couldn’t make mistakes, and planes couldn’t crash.
Regardless planes still crash and pilots are still blamed. Now they are blamed for being over reliant on the automation. The automation exists so pilots have less to worry about, and less to screw up. But when the screw ups happen (in spite of the automation) the pilots are still blamed nonetheless.
So no matter what the pilots are getting blamed even though there is evidence that Boeing should have some blame too.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Training your H1B Replacement stirs rage......
Ask any politician (Either party) or any CEO and they will all tell you the same thing.
We need foreign workers brought into the United States because there is a shortage of qualified Americans.
It is the standard line (they all say) and it is a complete LIE.
Computer World Magazine just did this story on IT workers who were forced to train their own replacements (from India).
Then they got laid off.
This same story has been going on for 15 years.
American IT workers are expensive. Indian IT workers are cheap. Have your American train his Indian replacement and then kick his American ass out the door.
This is a standard Corporate America procedure. It is basically taught in business school 101.
When every company is wall to wall Indians then pretend it is because Americans are not qualified.
So Computer World Magazine wrote this story and the reader comments were so overwhelming that they had to write a second story just to talk about the 3000 plus angry comments.
Do the politicians care? Nope! Do the CEO’s care? Nope! Do the unemployed workers care? Yes…..but what can they do about it.
They can vote for Republicans who love the status quo. Or they can vote for Democrats who also love the status quo.
Make sure you pick the right party if you want real change. Good luck.
At A.B.'s company, about 220 IT jobs have been lost to offshore outsourcing over the last year. A.B. is telling the story because, initially, there was little knowledge among fellow employees about H-1B visa holders and how they are used. They didn't know that offshore outsourcing firms are the largest users of H-1B visas, or exactly how this visa facilitates IT job losses in the U.S.
"I think once we learned about it, we became angrier toward the U.S. government than we were with the people that were over here from India," A.B. said, "because the government is allowing this."
The IT workers at this firm first learned of the offshore outsourcing threat through rumors. Later, the IT staff was called into an auditorium and heard directly from the CIO about the plan to replace them. It would take months for the transition to be completed, in part because of some new system installations.
Many younger IT workers found jobs and left. Mainframe workers were apparently in demand and also able to find new jobs. But older workers with skills in open systems, storage and SAN faced a harder time. About half the IT staffers, mostly the older ones, would stay to the end.
Training the replacement workers involved holding morning-long WebEx meetings several times a week with offshore outsourcing staff based in India. The sessions were recorded as details about the environment, including diagrams and scripts, were shared.
As they moved closer to the termination date for the U.S. workers, the overseas employees would follow or shadow, via WebEx sessions, everything an IT worker did during the day. The outsourcing firm's onshore staff helped to coordinate these efforts, but also worked to untangle the meaning of some of the questions.
The overseas workers did not appear to have much practical experience (not qualified), and the same questions were asked repeatedly (Not qualified) , A.B. said.
Before they lost their jobs, A.B.'s co-workers decided to made a subtle and symbolic protest over what was happening: As the H-1B visa workers gradually took over the offices once occupied by U.S. workers, one employee brought in a bunch of small American flags on sticks.
The flags were retrofitted so they could fit into the walls of the cubicles.
(Computerworld viewed a photograph of the cubicle flags, but decided not to publish it to protect A.B's identity.)
(Computerworld viewed a photograph of the cubicle flags, but decided not to publish it to protect A.B's identity.)
The flags were displayed, cubicle after cubicle, much like way flags are hung on homes in a residential neighborhoods on the 4th of July. They were visible to anyone walking down the hall. "That was the only thing that we could do," A.B. said. "We felt that we were making a statement. But to be honest, I don't think the Indian workers fully understood what was going on."
To illustrate this point, A.B. recounted a conversation with an offshore outsourcing visa holder. A.B. worked directly with one of the offshore firm's visa employees, whose job it was to help train the overseas workers.
"I know he was over here to do a job," A.B. explained. "I treated him as a colleague, even though I was resentful."
"I know he was over here to do a job," A.B. explained. "I treated him as a colleague, even though I was resentful."
The offshore outsourcing employee was pleasant, and a couple of weeks before A.B.'s job ended, he asked: "That Monday, you are going to another job?"
"I said, 'No, I'm not going to another job," A.B. recalled. "'You are taking my job. I don't have another job to go to.'" A.B. explained that as an older worker it would be difficult to get another full-time position.
The offshore outsourcing worker later sent A.B. a Facebook friend request. "I don't think he comprehended the situation over here -- that we were losing our jobs, we didn't have jobs to go to," A.B. said.
The Facebook friend request was not accepted.
The Facebook friend request was not accepted.
In the last month, the offshore outsourcing workers, again via WebEx, essentially took over A.B.'s job. It became A.B.'s role to follow along to make sure that the offshore workers executed various tasks correctly.
While this was going on, more and more H-1B workers appeared at the company, filling more of the offices.
While this was going on, more and more H-1B workers appeared at the company, filling more of the offices.
Before the offshore outsourcing had begun, there was an internal study to compare the costs of insourcing versus outsourcing. A.B. did not see the study, but wonders what would happen if the U.S. government were to impose restrictions on the H-1B visa and raise the cost of using it, and whether that could change the economics of offshoring and encourage more insourcing.
A.B. talked about hopes for getting U.S. lawmakers to visit the company and count the number of Indian workers and the number of American workers. Efforts to arrange meetings with lawmakers were unsuccessful.
"They are going to find more Indian workers than American workers," A.B. said. "For every India worker that's there, that used to be an American."
"They are going to find more Indian workers than American workers," A.B. said. "For every India worker that's there, that used to be an American."
The American flags have since been removed from the cubicle walls.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Freedom to protest....Except at the Court.
The Supreme Court says restricting anti abortion protestors
to 35 feet is unconstitutional.
The founding fathers were very specific that they wanted
protestors to be able to harass innocent people up close and personal.
Yelling at an innocent person from 35 feet away restricts a
person s rights to full harassment. The
Supreme court will not stand for it.
Of course if you want to protest the supreme court you can just
forget about it. Not going to
happen. Your freedoms end at the steps
of the Court.
If you want to run up to an innocent girl, get right in her
face, and scream and yell…..You go right ahead. You are protected by the US Constitution. The Supreme Court has your back. Harass away.
But if you want to run up to Chief Justice Roberts and
scream in his face…..At his work place…….Um yeah not legal. I mean you can do it. But you will be thrown to the ground by 12
officers, while being tasered for good measure. Don’t worry about not being able to rub your eyes (because you
will be handcuffed) either, because the sting of the pepper spray is only
temporary.
Enjoy your freedoms.
From June 2012 -
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/supreme-court-issues-new-rule-barring-protests-on-plaza/#
Monday, June 23, 2014
Those poor, poor Clintons.......
The Clintons and their money troubles…
Hillary has been failing miserably to explain how poor she is. Now Chelsea wants you to know how poor she is too.
Pay no attention to the 10.5 MILLION dollar NYC apartment Chelsea lives in. She would be just as happy in a 3.5 million dollar apartment. Doesn’t everyone have one of those? Don’t you have one?
Yes Chelsea is just barely scraping by. Poor thing. Pay no attention to the Hedge Fund manager Husband and his 15 Million dollar net worth. For a Hedge Fund Manager that is like minimum wage. Yes Chelsea is just your average girl.
Yes Chelsea is just barely scraping by. Poor thing. Pay no attention to the Hedge Fund manager Husband and his 15 Million dollar net worth. For a Hedge Fund Manager that is like minimum wage. Yes Chelsea is just your average girl.
Chelsea acts like she sacrificed this great life by going to work for the Clinton Global Initiative. Think of the hardship she must endure having to fly to the resort towns such as Davos Switzerland to hang out with the worlds Billionaire elites.
They all fly in on their private jets, to drink the finest Champaign (and Caviar) while discussing world poverty. Something they can all relate too.
Poor Hillary too…She must survive on her husband’s mere 155 MILLION Dollar survival fund. At 500K per speech it builds up fast.
Who do you think paid Bill 500K to speak? Do you think poor people paid that? Do you think homeless people paid that? Do you think unemployed people paid that?
No, no, no it was actually a who’s who of the corporate elites. They are paying Bill back for all his good work he did in the 90’s.
You remember when -
Clinton deregulated the banks….and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the power companies…and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the energy markets…and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the supplement market…and the people got screwed.
Clinton gave China most Favored Nation status…And the people got screwed.
Clinton passed NAFTA….and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the power companies…and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the energy markets…and the people got screwed.
Clinton deregulated the supplement market…and the people got screwed.
Clinton gave China most Favored Nation status…And the people got screwed.
Clinton passed NAFTA….and the people got screwed.
Yes everything he did was pro corporation, and Anti US worker. The corporations have been very appreciative.
The same Corporations can’t wait for Hillary to get back to work too.
Hillary defends herself by saying people do not hold her responsible for having money, because she pays her share of taxes. It isn’t about paying taxes… it is about taking corporate money, as a political figure, and screwing the people.
Her husband was an all time great at the practice. Not only did he screw the people, but then he made it seem like he was actually fighting for the little guy.
Unfortunately the Clinton bank account shows he was really just fighting for himself.
Hillary is getting ready to duplicate that accomplishment. If only you would look past the piles of money and see her as an average American.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Dick Cheney Wants Your Money Please......
Dick Cheney…..The man who made an entire career out of being wrong is now asking for your attention.
It wasn’t enough to be wrong at every high level government position he ever held (and there were many). Now Dick wants to get back in the game. He wants to be relevant again, and the best part is he wants you to help pay for it.
No seriously….. Dick Cheney wants you to send him money so he can keep being wrong. Being wrong is not cheap you know.
Are you paying attention to what I am telling you? This is serious. You need to stop reading this post and go get your check book. Why are you still reading? Go find a pen….. and where it says “Pay to the orders” you need to write “DICK Cheney”.
Make sure you spell DICK correctly. We don’t want your hard earned money going to just any DICK.
Then under the dollar amount you fill in whatever amount you feel comfortable with. Maybe it is only $5.00. Maybe it is $5000.00. However much you feel Dick Cheney deserves (to continue being wrong) you go right ahead and fill in that amount.
When he was Vice President Dick Cheney being wrong only cost Trillions of US Dollars, and Thousands of dead US citizens. Since the US Treasury refuses to continue giving Dick Cheney money you will need to fill in the shortfall.
Don’t be shy about making your contribution a reoccurring monthly payment either. Being wrong is very costly. To keep it going we will all have to make some sacrifice. So don’t be cheap.
When you are done writing Dick Cheney a check please feel free to send me one too.
http://strongeramerica.com/
It wasn’t enough to be wrong at every high level government position he ever held (and there were many). Now Dick wants to get back in the game. He wants to be relevant again, and the best part is he wants you to help pay for it.
No seriously….. Dick Cheney wants you to send him money so he can keep being wrong. Being wrong is not cheap you know.
Are you paying attention to what I am telling you? This is serious. You need to stop reading this post and go get your check book. Why are you still reading? Go find a pen….. and where it says “Pay to the orders” you need to write “DICK Cheney”.
Make sure you spell DICK correctly. We don’t want your hard earned money going to just any DICK.
Then under the dollar amount you fill in whatever amount you feel comfortable with. Maybe it is only $5.00. Maybe it is $5000.00. However much you feel Dick Cheney deserves (to continue being wrong) you go right ahead and fill in that amount.
When he was Vice President Dick Cheney being wrong only cost Trillions of US Dollars, and Thousands of dead US citizens. Since the US Treasury refuses to continue giving Dick Cheney money you will need to fill in the shortfall.
Don’t be shy about making your contribution a reoccurring monthly payment either. Being wrong is very costly. To keep it going we will all have to make some sacrifice. So don’t be cheap.
When you are done writing Dick Cheney a check please feel free to send me one too.
http://strongeramerica.com/
Congress Blames Dr. Oz....
Congress is giving Dr Oz a beat down because the products he endorses are not scientifically proven.
Let me explain what the real issue is.
Normally when you walk into a store the products on the shelf are assumed to be tested by the government and
A) proven to be safe.
B) Proven to do what they are supposed to do.
Unfortunately when it comes to supplements this is 100% false.
In 1994 Congress and President William Jefferson Clinton deregulated the supplement market through the “Dietary Supplement and Health and Education Act of 1994.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Supplement_Health_and_Education_Act_of_1994
The industry cheered.
This deregulation meant supplements no longer came under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Companies could market and sell supplements without any proof they are safe or effective. All the proof would be sorted out once you fed their product to your family. Maybe they would help you lose weight……Or maybe they would help you grow a third arm. Nobody really knew….. and nobody really cared.
Companies like GNC exploded selling all kinds of concocted nonsense. Most of it comes right out of the filthy factories of Communist Red China.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2003732744_vitamins03.html
Is it safe? (shrug). Is it legal? (Shrug.)
How many times have we heard athletes complain they took a supplement and then got in trouble because they didn’t know what they were taking. A lot of times they are telling the truth. They really don’t know what they are taking. Nobody does. Places like GNC are the Wild Wild West. That is exactly what they wanted it to be too.
It is a $32,000,000,000.00 industry selling this crap so nobody spends a lot of time caring. The industry gets to make all kinds of baseless promises (and assertions) and you get to eat it all up (literally). It is a great deal for them.
Time will tell if it is a great deal for you.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidlariviere/2013/04/18/nutritional-supplements-flexing-their-muscles-as-growth-industry/
Meanwhile Congress can keep blaming Dr. Oz, and pretending they didn’t create the problem in the first place. President Clinton doesn’t spend a lot of time reminding everyone what a great job he did deregulating the industry either. He would just prefer that little fact get lost to history.
Congress should spend a little more time Regulating the supplement market, and a little less time creating 30 second sound bites for the evening news.
Let me explain what the real issue is.
Normally when you walk into a store the products on the shelf are assumed to be tested by the government and
A) proven to be safe.
B) Proven to do what they are supposed to do.
Unfortunately when it comes to supplements this is 100% false.
In 1994 Congress and President William Jefferson Clinton deregulated the supplement market through the “Dietary Supplement and Health and Education Act of 1994.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Supplement_Health_and_Education_Act_of_1994
The industry cheered.
This deregulation meant supplements no longer came under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Companies could market and sell supplements without any proof they are safe or effective. All the proof would be sorted out once you fed their product to your family. Maybe they would help you lose weight……Or maybe they would help you grow a third arm. Nobody really knew….. and nobody really cared.
Companies like GNC exploded selling all kinds of concocted nonsense. Most of it comes right out of the filthy factories of Communist Red China.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2003732744_vitamins03.html
Is it safe? (shrug). Is it legal? (Shrug.)
How many times have we heard athletes complain they took a supplement and then got in trouble because they didn’t know what they were taking. A lot of times they are telling the truth. They really don’t know what they are taking. Nobody does. Places like GNC are the Wild Wild West. That is exactly what they wanted it to be too.
It is a $32,000,000,000.00 industry selling this crap so nobody spends a lot of time caring. The industry gets to make all kinds of baseless promises (and assertions) and you get to eat it all up (literally). It is a great deal for them.
Time will tell if it is a great deal for you.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidlariviere/2013/04/18/nutritional-supplements-flexing-their-muscles-as-growth-industry/
Meanwhile Congress can keep blaming Dr. Oz, and pretending they didn’t create the problem in the first place. President Clinton doesn’t spend a lot of time reminding everyone what a great job he did deregulating the industry either. He would just prefer that little fact get lost to history.
Congress should spend a little more time Regulating the supplement market, and a little less time creating 30 second sound bites for the evening news.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Illegal Alien Humanitarian Crisis.....
In the words of President Obama there is a humanitarian crisis happening at the Mexican border.
And President Obama would know since he is the one who created the crisis in the first place. The crisis is not just from the influx of new illegal Aliens, but specifically the children coming across. Children coming across without parents, and in record numbers. These kids are traveling alone through war ravaged Mexico to cross the southern US border.
Why is this happen?
Well In 2008 the bottom fell out of the US economy. Banks failed, the stock market crashed, and millions of workers got laid off.
An unintended consequence of this economic meltdown was illegal immigrants stopped flooding into the United States. There was no point in risking ones life crossing the border (and possibly getting arrested) when there were no jobs once they arrived. The economy was so bad that people who were already here (illegally) were leaving (self deporting) simply because the US economy was so dire.
Instead of building on this positive development Obama (in 2011) announced his administration would no longer deport children who were brought to the United States illegally.
If you were a child and you made it into the United States then you could stay. Since that announcement the flood gates have opened. Illegal Alien Children coming to the US is up over 800% since 2010. There is no more incentive not to try and get to the USA. If you are a child and you make it in then you are all set.
On top of that….. Obama, and The democrats..... and the Republicans...... and the Corporations....... have been pushing for Amnesty (They call it a pathway to citizenship). But most importantly the ability to legally work even though you are here illegally.
The idea of Amnesty is even more of an incentive to run across the US border…..and do it as fast as possible. Everyone wants to be here (and counted) before the new law passes. Nobody wants to miss their opportunity. The next one might not happen for another 30 years.
See this is why Amnesty Is not a solution to the illegal immigration problem. Everyone says “well we can’t deport 11 million people”. And that is fine. But that doesn’t mean you need to reward people who are here illegally either. Rewarding them only gives millions more incentive to hurry up and come too. And they are.
In 1986 Reagan tried Amnesty. Said Amnesty will fix the problem. It didn’t. In 1994 Clinton passed NAFTA and said that will fix the problem. Give them jobs in Mexico and they won’t come to the United States illegally. The jobs went down, but the illegal aliens continued to come. Now Obama wants to do what Reagan did all over again. Will it work? Of course it won’t work. The illegals will continue to come to receive their anticipated rewards.
Before Obamas 2011 announcement most illegal Aliens stayed in the shadows. They didn’t want to get arrested or deported. But now they come across the border and turn themselves in immediately. And why not? Obama already said they won’t be sent back. That means it is now up to the US government (paid for by your tax dollars) to shelter them. To feed them. To take care of them.
Today the border patrol is being completely overwhelmed. They are forced to send illegals to different states just to spread them out. They are using multiple US military installations as temporary housing to deal with the exploding problem.
This latest surge is costing taxpayers over 2 billion dollars just to handle the new onslaught. It is a tsunami of illegals coming across and it isn’t a mystery why they are. The border patrol asks them “why did you come?” and they all answer with the same one word reply…..”Amnesty”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0ea03c70-ef48-11e3-acad-00144feabdc0.html#axzz34ozcVpQT
From 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/us/us-to-stop-deporting-some-illegal-immigrants.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
And President Obama would know since he is the one who created the crisis in the first place. The crisis is not just from the influx of new illegal Aliens, but specifically the children coming across. Children coming across without parents, and in record numbers. These kids are traveling alone through war ravaged Mexico to cross the southern US border.
Why is this happen?
Well In 2008 the bottom fell out of the US economy. Banks failed, the stock market crashed, and millions of workers got laid off.
An unintended consequence of this economic meltdown was illegal immigrants stopped flooding into the United States. There was no point in risking ones life crossing the border (and possibly getting arrested) when there were no jobs once they arrived. The economy was so bad that people who were already here (illegally) were leaving (self deporting) simply because the US economy was so dire.
Instead of building on this positive development Obama (in 2011) announced his administration would no longer deport children who were brought to the United States illegally.
If you were a child and you made it into the United States then you could stay. Since that announcement the flood gates have opened. Illegal Alien Children coming to the US is up over 800% since 2010. There is no more incentive not to try and get to the USA. If you are a child and you make it in then you are all set.
On top of that….. Obama, and The democrats..... and the Republicans...... and the Corporations....... have been pushing for Amnesty (They call it a pathway to citizenship). But most importantly the ability to legally work even though you are here illegally.
The idea of Amnesty is even more of an incentive to run across the US border…..and do it as fast as possible. Everyone wants to be here (and counted) before the new law passes. Nobody wants to miss their opportunity. The next one might not happen for another 30 years.
See this is why Amnesty Is not a solution to the illegal immigration problem. Everyone says “well we can’t deport 11 million people”. And that is fine. But that doesn’t mean you need to reward people who are here illegally either. Rewarding them only gives millions more incentive to hurry up and come too. And they are.
In 1986 Reagan tried Amnesty. Said Amnesty will fix the problem. It didn’t. In 1994 Clinton passed NAFTA and said that will fix the problem. Give them jobs in Mexico and they won’t come to the United States illegally. The jobs went down, but the illegal aliens continued to come. Now Obama wants to do what Reagan did all over again. Will it work? Of course it won’t work. The illegals will continue to come to receive their anticipated rewards.
Before Obamas 2011 announcement most illegal Aliens stayed in the shadows. They didn’t want to get arrested or deported. But now they come across the border and turn themselves in immediately. And why not? Obama already said they won’t be sent back. That means it is now up to the US government (paid for by your tax dollars) to shelter them. To feed them. To take care of them.
Today the border patrol is being completely overwhelmed. They are forced to send illegals to different states just to spread them out. They are using multiple US military installations as temporary housing to deal with the exploding problem.
This latest surge is costing taxpayers over 2 billion dollars just to handle the new onslaught. It is a tsunami of illegals coming across and it isn’t a mystery why they are. The border patrol asks them “why did you come?” and they all answer with the same one word reply…..”Amnesty”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0ea03c70-ef48-11e3-acad-00144feabdc0.html#axzz34ozcVpQT
From 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/us/us-to-stop-deporting-some-illegal-immigrants.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Friday, June 13, 2014
The Mess In Iraq.....
To understand the situation in Iraq (and Syria) you need to get to the real issue.
People throw around terms like “Insurgents”, and “terrorists” but really what you have is Sunni vs Shia. The same battle which has been waged for centuries is still going on.
George W Bush (and his poor war plan) let the genie out of the bottle, and now it is a disaster.
The extremists….insurgents…..terro rists are found on all sides. Both sides can be hostile to the United States. The United States supports both sides, depending on what country you are talking about.
In Iraq the Sunnis are the minority. Saddam was Sunni and (when he held power) terrorized the Shia population. He gassed his own people (The Shia). Saddam fought an 8 year war with Iran (who are Shia.)
The USA doesn’t like Iran, so in the 80’s the USA supported Saddam.
When US tanks rolled in to Iraq (in 2003) and provided democratic elections, the Shia Majority seized power. Now Maliki (the Shia President) is aligned with Iran (who the USA doesn’t like).
Maliki has been miserable to the Sunni population ever since assuming power. Malaki has prevented Sunni participation in the new government, and abused the Sunni population at every turn. The resentment this caused helped create the new radical insurgency.
A lot of the Sunni’s being marginalized today were formerly in Saddam’s army. They were kicked out by the Americans and are now the “Insurgents”. The reason it looks like they know what they are doing is because they do. Rumsfeld called them “dead enders” but there is no dead end. Just a vacuum created by the exit of US troops.
This new Sunni, (insurgent, terrorist) uprising will result in Iran rejoining the fight. They have done it before, and are starting again. The USA, who spent Hundreds of Billions setting up the Shia government, and training the (now fleeing incompetent) new army, doesn’t want the whole thing to fall apart. So they won’t say much about Iran providing help.
Meanwhile The Iraqi (Sunni) Insurgents are supported by Saudi Arabia (Friend of America) and home of Osama Bin Laden. Sunni Saudi Arabia hates Shia Iran and will do whatever possible to keep Iran out. Saudi Arabia thus far provides more financial support (then military support).
The Sunni insurgents (who are seizing cities in Iraq) are also robbing all the deserted banks (in empty towns) making them very well funded. They could possibly be the most well funded terrorists in the world.
Thanks to all the new Iraqi soldiers walking away (without a fight) they also have acquired all kinds of new (American funded) weapons. A nightmare scenario for Obama.
Today Maliki is begging Obama to get involved. Yet two years ago Obama wanted to leave (some) US troops in Iraq but Maliki said no way. Bet he regrets that now.
Meanwhile in Syria the USA does NOT support The Shia government (of Assad…aligned with Iran) and Supports (tepidly) the Sunny insurgents fighting the government.
Ironically the same “insurgents” the US is against in Iraq…… are literally the same fighters the US supports in Syria. It is now really one giant battle field across two countries. Depending on which country you are in, dictates which side the US supports.
Overall it is a gigantic….colossal….. mess. The reason Obama isn’t doing much is because there isn’t much to do. People say the USA should bomb…… but bomb what? There is nothing to bomb. If Obama isn’t going to put 150K troops back in Iraq (which he is not) then there nothing to do but watch.
People throw around terms like “Insurgents”, and “terrorists” but really what you have is Sunni vs Shia. The same battle which has been waged for centuries is still going on.
George W Bush (and his poor war plan) let the genie out of the bottle, and now it is a disaster.
The extremists….insurgents…..terro
In Iraq the Sunnis are the minority. Saddam was Sunni and (when he held power) terrorized the Shia population. He gassed his own people (The Shia). Saddam fought an 8 year war with Iran (who are Shia.)
The USA doesn’t like Iran, so in the 80’s the USA supported Saddam.
When US tanks rolled in to Iraq (in 2003) and provided democratic elections, the Shia Majority seized power. Now Maliki (the Shia President) is aligned with Iran (who the USA doesn’t like).
Maliki has been miserable to the Sunni population ever since assuming power. Malaki has prevented Sunni participation in the new government, and abused the Sunni population at every turn. The resentment this caused helped create the new radical insurgency.
A lot of the Sunni’s being marginalized today were formerly in Saddam’s army. They were kicked out by the Americans and are now the “Insurgents”. The reason it looks like they know what they are doing is because they do. Rumsfeld called them “dead enders” but there is no dead end. Just a vacuum created by the exit of US troops.
This new Sunni, (insurgent, terrorist) uprising will result in Iran rejoining the fight. They have done it before, and are starting again. The USA, who spent Hundreds of Billions setting up the Shia government, and training the (now fleeing incompetent) new army, doesn’t want the whole thing to fall apart. So they won’t say much about Iran providing help.
Meanwhile The Iraqi (Sunni) Insurgents are supported by Saudi Arabia (Friend of America) and home of Osama Bin Laden. Sunni Saudi Arabia hates Shia Iran and will do whatever possible to keep Iran out. Saudi Arabia thus far provides more financial support (then military support).
The Sunni insurgents (who are seizing cities in Iraq) are also robbing all the deserted banks (in empty towns) making them very well funded. They could possibly be the most well funded terrorists in the world.
Thanks to all the new Iraqi soldiers walking away (without a fight) they also have acquired all kinds of new (American funded) weapons. A nightmare scenario for Obama.
Today Maliki is begging Obama to get involved. Yet two years ago Obama wanted to leave (some) US troops in Iraq but Maliki said no way. Bet he regrets that now.
Meanwhile in Syria the USA does NOT support The Shia government (of Assad…aligned with Iran) and Supports (tepidly) the Sunny insurgents fighting the government.
Ironically the same “insurgents” the US is against in Iraq…… are literally the same fighters the US supports in Syria. It is now really one giant battle field across two countries. Depending on which country you are in, dictates which side the US supports.
Overall it is a gigantic….colossal….. mess. The reason Obama isn’t doing much is because there isn’t much to do. People say the USA should bomb…… but bomb what? There is nothing to bomb. If Obama isn’t going to put 150K troops back in Iraq (which he is not) then there nothing to do but watch.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Evil Strippers......
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/11/nyc-stripper-crime-ring/10339165/
A few months ago I posted about this doctor who ran up 135K at a strip club because I couldn’t understand what he would have ordered that would have cost so much. The math didn’t add up. The doctor said he was drugged which also seemed silly. But I guess he was telling the truth. He really was drugged.
"It's a tawdry tale of New York City strippers on the prowl for vulnerable men with money, drinks spiked with illegal synthetic drugs and runaway credit card charges at topless clubs."
"Some of the men say they have little or no memory of any of it. But investigators filled in the blanks for them on Wednesday by announcing the arrests of four women — all described as professional strippers — and a club manager on charges including grand larceny, assault and forgery"
"According to authorities, the scheme began with the women going on "fishing" expeditions at bars in midtown Manhattan and on Long Island to lure in victims. On follow-up dates, they secretly dosed the victim's drinks with the stimulant methylone, commonly known as "molly," or the tranquilizer ketamine."
"The dazed and confused victims were driven to Scores and the RoadHouse in Queens, where their credit cards were swiped and unauthorized charges recorded, some as high as $50,000. The clubs paid the women a fee, but the establishments were not facing criminal charges, authorities said."
"The men reported waking up in their cars or in hotel rooms, wondering how they got there. Those who tried to dispute the strip club bills received texts from the strippers threatening to go public with their transgressions, authorities said."
"The defendants were banking on the victims being too afraid to contact the police, but as the indictment and arrests show, they made a serious miscalculation," Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said.
"Last month, Scores sued Younan, saying he owed the club $135,303 for unpaid services. According to the lawsuit, the doctor disputed the charges by saying "he was drugged by plaintiff's employees and thus did not authorize the charges" — a claim the club says is contradicted by security video showing him freely showing up there on four separate occasions."
"The arrests exposed how "my client was preyed upon by this ring and not responsible for charges to his credit card," Younan's attorney, Michael Weinstein, said Wednesday."
"There was no immediate response to phone messages left Wednesday at Scores and the RoadHouse."
A few months ago I posted about this doctor who ran up 135K at a strip club because I couldn’t understand what he would have ordered that would have cost so much. The math didn’t add up. The doctor said he was drugged which also seemed silly. But I guess he was telling the truth. He really was drugged.
"It's a tawdry tale of New York City strippers on the prowl for vulnerable men with money, drinks spiked with illegal synthetic drugs and runaway credit card charges at topless clubs."
"Some of the men say they have little or no memory of any of it. But investigators filled in the blanks for them on Wednesday by announcing the arrests of four women — all described as professional strippers — and a club manager on charges including grand larceny, assault and forgery"
"According to authorities, the scheme began with the women going on "fishing" expeditions at bars in midtown Manhattan and on Long Island to lure in victims. On follow-up dates, they secretly dosed the victim's drinks with the stimulant methylone, commonly known as "molly," or the tranquilizer ketamine."
"The dazed and confused victims were driven to Scores and the RoadHouse in Queens, where their credit cards were swiped and unauthorized charges recorded, some as high as $50,000. The clubs paid the women a fee, but the establishments were not facing criminal charges, authorities said."
"The men reported waking up in their cars or in hotel rooms, wondering how they got there. Those who tried to dispute the strip club bills received texts from the strippers threatening to go public with their transgressions, authorities said."
"The defendants were banking on the victims being too afraid to contact the police, but as the indictment and arrests show, they made a serious miscalculation," Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said.
"Last month, Scores sued Younan, saying he owed the club $135,303 for unpaid services. According to the lawsuit, the doctor disputed the charges by saying "he was drugged by plaintiff's employees and thus did not authorize the charges" — a claim the club says is contradicted by security video showing him freely showing up there on four separate occasions."
"The arrests exposed how "my client was preyed upon by this ring and not responsible for charges to his credit card," Younan's attorney, Michael Weinstein, said Wednesday."
"There was no immediate response to phone messages left Wednesday at Scores and the RoadHouse."
Slave Labor Shrimping.....
If you eat shrimp most likely it comes from Asia. The reason it comes from Asia (is the same reason everything comes from Asia) It is a lot cheaper. The reason it is a lot cheaper is because they pay their workers $0.00. Literally!
They can also beat their workers which is a big plus. They can even murder their workers.
Whatever it takes to bring you cheap shrimp. I shouldn’t say “cheap” because it is not cheap. What I meant to say is really profitable.
See American Shrimpers are expensive. That means less profit for Walmart. Beating workers in America is frowned upon. Paying them nothing is also a lot more difficult.
So it is always more profitable to receive supplies from Asia where nobody cares.
Most people have no idea what happens on a shrimping boat in Thailand. So there is no reason to feel bad (while popping delicious shrimp in your mouth) about the human suffering that went into providing that bag of shrimp.
Companies like Walmart love to play stupid. They are SHOCKED (SHOCKED) that this kind of thing goes on. It is like the scene in Casablanca when the cop goes in the back room and was shocked (shocked) that gambling was taking place.
It is always easier to play stupid then do the right thing.
Then once exposed simply insist you will look into it. Really they will. It will be fine.
In the meantime you go on and continue enjoying your shrimp.
“Slaves forced to work for no pay for years at a time under threat of extreme violence are being used in Asia in the production of seafood sold by major US Retailers”
“A six-month investigation has established that large numbers of men bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand are integral to the production of prawns (commonly called shrimp in the US) sold in leading supermarkets around the world, including the top four global retailers: Walmart, Carrefour, Costco”
“Men who have managed to escape from boats supplying CP Foods and other companies like it told the Guardian of horrific conditions, including 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture and execution-style killings.”
“Some were at sea for years; some were regularly offered methamphetamines to keep them going. Some had seen fellow slaves murdered in front of them.”
“Fifteen migrant workers from Burma and Cambodia also told how they had been enslaved. They said they had paid brokers to help them find work in Thailand in factories or on building sites. But they had been sold instead to boat captains, sometimes for as little as £250.”
"I thought I was going to die," said Vuthy, a former monk from Cambodia who was sold from captain to captain. "They kept me chained up, they didn't care about me or give me any food … They sold us like animals, but we are not animals – we are human beings."
“Another trafficking victim said he had seen as many as 20 fellow slaves killed in front of him, one of whom was tied, limb by limb, to the bows of four boats and pulled apart at sea.”
"We'd get beaten even if we worked hard," said another. "All the Burmese, [even] on all the other boats, were trafficked. There were so many of us [slaves] it would be impossible to count them all."
“CP Foods – a company with an annual turnover of $33bn (£20bn) that brands itself as "the kitchen of the world"
“The alarm over slavery in the Thai fishing industry has been sounded before by non-governmental organisations and in UN reports.”
“But now, for the first time, the Guardian has established how the pieces of the long, complex supply chains connect slavery to leading producers and retailers.”
"If you buy prawns or shrimp from Thailand, you will be buying the produce of slave labour," said Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International.”
Enjoy your shrimp……..
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour?CMP=twt_gu
They can also beat their workers which is a big plus. They can even murder their workers.
Whatever it takes to bring you cheap shrimp. I shouldn’t say “cheap” because it is not cheap. What I meant to say is really profitable.
See American Shrimpers are expensive. That means less profit for Walmart. Beating workers in America is frowned upon. Paying them nothing is also a lot more difficult.
So it is always more profitable to receive supplies from Asia where nobody cares.
Most people have no idea what happens on a shrimping boat in Thailand. So there is no reason to feel bad (while popping delicious shrimp in your mouth) about the human suffering that went into providing that bag of shrimp.
Companies like Walmart love to play stupid. They are SHOCKED (SHOCKED) that this kind of thing goes on. It is like the scene in Casablanca when the cop goes in the back room and was shocked (shocked) that gambling was taking place.
It is always easier to play stupid then do the right thing.
Then once exposed simply insist you will look into it. Really they will. It will be fine.
In the meantime you go on and continue enjoying your shrimp.
“Slaves forced to work for no pay for years at a time under threat of extreme violence are being used in Asia in the production of seafood sold by major US Retailers”
“A six-month investigation has established that large numbers of men bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand are integral to the production of prawns (commonly called shrimp in the US) sold in leading supermarkets around the world, including the top four global retailers: Walmart, Carrefour, Costco”
“Men who have managed to escape from boats supplying CP Foods and other companies like it told the Guardian of horrific conditions, including 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture and execution-style killings.”
“Some were at sea for years; some were regularly offered methamphetamines to keep them going. Some had seen fellow slaves murdered in front of them.”
“Fifteen migrant workers from Burma and Cambodia also told how they had been enslaved. They said they had paid brokers to help them find work in Thailand in factories or on building sites. But they had been sold instead to boat captains, sometimes for as little as £250.”
"I thought I was going to die," said Vuthy, a former monk from Cambodia who was sold from captain to captain. "They kept me chained up, they didn't care about me or give me any food … They sold us like animals, but we are not animals – we are human beings."
“Another trafficking victim said he had seen as many as 20 fellow slaves killed in front of him, one of whom was tied, limb by limb, to the bows of four boats and pulled apart at sea.”
"We'd get beaten even if we worked hard," said another. "All the Burmese, [even] on all the other boats, were trafficked. There were so many of us [slaves] it would be impossible to count them all."
“CP Foods – a company with an annual turnover of $33bn (£20bn) that brands itself as "the kitchen of the world"
“The alarm over slavery in the Thai fishing industry has been sounded before by non-governmental organisations and in UN reports.”
“But now, for the first time, the Guardian has established how the pieces of the long, complex supply chains connect slavery to leading producers and retailers.”
"If you buy prawns or shrimp from Thailand, you will be buying the produce of slave labour," said Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International.”
Enjoy your shrimp……..
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour?CMP=twt_gu
Tea Party Strikes back.....
The Tea Party strikes back…. This is impressive.
Cantor spent 5 million bucks. Brat only spent 122 grand and Brat won convincingly. That gives hope.
Granted this is Virginia which is extremely conservative (so the victory might not translate) but the idea that big corporate money can be defeated is a positive development. Especially since Cantor is a heavy weight in the Republican party.
At the end of the day they all need to be thrown out. Each and every one (from both parties) need to be hurled out on the sidewalk.
The more times that happens the better.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-eric-cantor-loses-20140610,0,1218678.story
Cantor spent 5 million bucks. Brat only spent 122 grand and Brat won convincingly. That gives hope.
Granted this is Virginia which is extremely conservative (so the victory might not translate) but the idea that big corporate money can be defeated is a positive development. Especially since Cantor is a heavy weight in the Republican party.
At the end of the day they all need to be thrown out. Each and every one (from both parties) need to be hurled out on the sidewalk.
The more times that happens the better.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-eric-cantor-loses-20140610,0,1218678.story
Friday, June 6, 2014
George S Pattons Famous Speech Before D-Day
George S. Pattons famous speech before the D Day Invasion.
Be seated.
Men, all this stuff you hear about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of bullshit. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big-league ball players and the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. That's why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Battle is the most significant competition in which a man can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.
You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would be killed in a major battle. Every man is scared in his first action. If he says he's not, he's a goddamn liar. But the real hero is the man who fights even though he's scared. Some men will get over their fright in a minute under fire, some take an hour, and for some it takes days. But the real man never lets his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.
All through your army career you men have bitched about what you call 'this chicken-shit drilling.' That is all for a purpose—to ensure instant obedience to orders and to create constant alertness. This must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who is not always on his toes. But the drilling has made veterans of all you men. You are ready! A man has to be alert all the time if he expects to keep on breathing. If not, some German son-of-a-bitch will sneak up behind him and beat him to death with a sock full of shit. There are four hundred neatly marked graves in Sicily, all because one man went to sleep on the job—but they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before his officer did.
An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, and fights as a team. This individual hero stuff is bullshit. The bilious bastards who write that stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real battle than they do about fucking. And we have the best team—we have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity these poor bastards we're going up against.
All the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters. Every single man in the army plays a vital role. So don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. What if every truck driver decided that he didn't like the whine of the shells and turned yellow and jumped headlong into a ditch? That cowardly bastard could say to himself, 'Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands.' What if every man said that? Where in the hell would we be then? No, thank God, Americans don't say that. Every man does his job. Every man is important. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns, the quartermaster is needed to bring up the food and clothes for us because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last damn man in the mess hall, even the one who boils the water to keep us from getting the GI shits, has a job to do.
Each man must think not only of himself, but think of his buddy fighting alongside him. We don't want yellow cowards in the army. They should be killed off like flies. If not, they will go back home after the war, goddamn cowards, and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men.
One of the bravest men I saw in the African campaign was on a telegraph pole in the midst of furious fire while we were moving toward Tunis. I stopped and asked him what the hell he was doing up there. He answered, 'Fixing the wire, sir.' 'Isn't it a little unhealthy up there right now?' I asked. 'Yes sir, but this goddamn wire has got to be fixed.' I asked, 'Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?' And he answered, 'No sir, but you sure as hell do.' Now, there was a real soldier. A real man. A man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how great the odds, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty appeared at the time.
And you should have seen the trucks on the road to Gabès. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they crawled along those son-of-a-bitch roads, never stopping, never deviating from their course with shells bursting all around them. Many of the men drove over 40 consecutive hours. We got through on good old American guts. These were not combat men. But they were soldiers with a job to do. They were part of a team. Without them the fight would have been lost.
Sure, we all want to go home. We want to get this war over with. But you can't win a war lying down. The quickest way to get it over with is to get the bastards who started it. We want to get the hell over there and clean the goddamn thing up, and then get at those purple-pissing Japs. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. So keep moving. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper-hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler.
When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a Boche will get him eventually. The hell with that. My men don't dig foxholes. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have or ever will have. We're not just going to shoot the bastards, we're going to rip out their living goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket.
Some of you men are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you'll all do your duty. War is a bloody business, a killing business. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them, spill their blood or they will spill yours. Shoot them in the guts. Rip open their belly. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt from your face and you realize that it's not dirt, it's the blood and gut of what was once your best friend, you'll know what to do.
I don't want any messages saying 'I'm holding my position.' We're not holding a goddamned thing. We're advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding anything except the enemy's balls. We're going to hold him by his balls and we're going to kick him in the ass; twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all the time. Our plan of operation is to advance and keep on advancing. We're going to go through the enemy like shit through a tinhorn.
There will be some complaints that we're pushing our people too hard. I don't give a damn about such complaints. I believe that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder we push, the more Germans we kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing harder means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that. My men don't surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he is hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight. That's not just bullshit either. I want men like the lieutenant in Libya who, with a Luger against his chest, swept aside the gun with his hand, jerked his helmet off with the other and busted the hell out of the Boche with the helmet. Then he picked up the gun and he killed another German. All this time the man had a bullet through his lung. That's a man for you!
Don't forget, you don't know I'm here at all. No word of that fact is to be mentioned in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell they did with me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this army. I'm not even supposed to be in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the goddamned Germans. Some day, I want them to rise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl 'Ach! It's the goddamned Third Army and that son-of-a-bitch Patton again!'
Then there's one thing you men will be able to say when this war is over and you get back home. Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.' No sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say 'Son, your granddaddy rode with the great Third Army and a son-of-a-goddamned-bitch named George Patton!'
All right, you sons of bitches. You know how I feel. I'll be proud to lead you wonderful guys in battle anytime, anywhere. That's all.
Be seated.
Men, all this stuff you hear about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of bullshit. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big-league ball players and the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. That's why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Battle is the most significant competition in which a man can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.
You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would be killed in a major battle. Every man is scared in his first action. If he says he's not, he's a goddamn liar. But the real hero is the man who fights even though he's scared. Some men will get over their fright in a minute under fire, some take an hour, and for some it takes days. But the real man never lets his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.
All through your army career you men have bitched about what you call 'this chicken-shit drilling.' That is all for a purpose—to ensure instant obedience to orders and to create constant alertness. This must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who is not always on his toes. But the drilling has made veterans of all you men. You are ready! A man has to be alert all the time if he expects to keep on breathing. If not, some German son-of-a-bitch will sneak up behind him and beat him to death with a sock full of shit. There are four hundred neatly marked graves in Sicily, all because one man went to sleep on the job—but they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before his officer did.
An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, and fights as a team. This individual hero stuff is bullshit. The bilious bastards who write that stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real battle than they do about fucking. And we have the best team—we have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity these poor bastards we're going up against.
All the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters. Every single man in the army plays a vital role. So don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. What if every truck driver decided that he didn't like the whine of the shells and turned yellow and jumped headlong into a ditch? That cowardly bastard could say to himself, 'Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands.' What if every man said that? Where in the hell would we be then? No, thank God, Americans don't say that. Every man does his job. Every man is important. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns, the quartermaster is needed to bring up the food and clothes for us because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last damn man in the mess hall, even the one who boils the water to keep us from getting the GI shits, has a job to do.
Each man must think not only of himself, but think of his buddy fighting alongside him. We don't want yellow cowards in the army. They should be killed off like flies. If not, they will go back home after the war, goddamn cowards, and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men.
One of the bravest men I saw in the African campaign was on a telegraph pole in the midst of furious fire while we were moving toward Tunis. I stopped and asked him what the hell he was doing up there. He answered, 'Fixing the wire, sir.' 'Isn't it a little unhealthy up there right now?' I asked. 'Yes sir, but this goddamn wire has got to be fixed.' I asked, 'Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?' And he answered, 'No sir, but you sure as hell do.' Now, there was a real soldier. A real man. A man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how great the odds, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty appeared at the time.
And you should have seen the trucks on the road to Gabès. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they crawled along those son-of-a-bitch roads, never stopping, never deviating from their course with shells bursting all around them. Many of the men drove over 40 consecutive hours. We got through on good old American guts. These were not combat men. But they were soldiers with a job to do. They were part of a team. Without them the fight would have been lost.
Sure, we all want to go home. We want to get this war over with. But you can't win a war lying down. The quickest way to get it over with is to get the bastards who started it. We want to get the hell over there and clean the goddamn thing up, and then get at those purple-pissing Japs. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. So keep moving. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper-hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler.
When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a Boche will get him eventually. The hell with that. My men don't dig foxholes. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have or ever will have. We're not just going to shoot the bastards, we're going to rip out their living goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket.
Some of you men are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you'll all do your duty. War is a bloody business, a killing business. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them, spill their blood or they will spill yours. Shoot them in the guts. Rip open their belly. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt from your face and you realize that it's not dirt, it's the blood and gut of what was once your best friend, you'll know what to do.
I don't want any messages saying 'I'm holding my position.' We're not holding a goddamned thing. We're advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding anything except the enemy's balls. We're going to hold him by his balls and we're going to kick him in the ass; twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all the time. Our plan of operation is to advance and keep on advancing. We're going to go through the enemy like shit through a tinhorn.
There will be some complaints that we're pushing our people too hard. I don't give a damn about such complaints. I believe that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder we push, the more Germans we kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing harder means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that. My men don't surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he is hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight. That's not just bullshit either. I want men like the lieutenant in Libya who, with a Luger against his chest, swept aside the gun with his hand, jerked his helmet off with the other and busted the hell out of the Boche with the helmet. Then he picked up the gun and he killed another German. All this time the man had a bullet through his lung. That's a man for you!
Don't forget, you don't know I'm here at all. No word of that fact is to be mentioned in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell they did with me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this army. I'm not even supposed to be in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the goddamned Germans. Some day, I want them to rise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl 'Ach! It's the goddamned Third Army and that son-of-a-bitch Patton again!'
Then there's one thing you men will be able to say when this war is over and you get back home. Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.' No sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say 'Son, your granddaddy rode with the great Third Army and a son-of-a-goddamned-bitch named George Patton!'
All right, you sons of bitches. You know how I feel. I'll be proud to lead you wonderful guys in battle anytime, anywhere. That's all.
George S Patton....
George S Patton –
The most feared, respected, and controversial General of World War 2.
Nick named Old Blood and Guts.
The last thing a German soldier wanted to hear was he was going against Pattons troops. That was a sure sign defeat was coming.
Most Generals took over a town and wanted to dig in and protect what they gained. General Patton didn’t believe in that. He believed you took over a town and you went right on to the next town. Then the next town after that. Continue advancing all the time. That philosophy was very successful, but also a logistical nightmare.
An advancing army needs lots of supplies. Troops need food. Tanks need gas. Guns need bullets. When Patton began his advance (after D Day) keeping his troops supplied was a monumental effort. All of the railroads in France were destroyed by allied bombing. That left everything to be delivered by truck.
All the supplies arrived on the Normandy beaches. The further Patton’s 3rd army advanced the harder it was to keep his troops supplied. So they set up the Red Ball Express. This was a convoy of thousands of trucks traveling night and day (from the Normandy coast) to Patton’s advancing 3rd army.
They closed the road to all civilian traffic and lined the route with red balls. The red balls let trucks know they were going the right way. The trucks traveled bumper to bumper for miles. At night they didn’t use lights for fear of being attacked. Trucks traveling through unfamiliar towns (at night) carried significant risk. If one truck took a wrong turn it might drive off a cliff. The next 10 trucks might follow. When the 11th truck figured out the mistake it would correct and the convoy would continue on. There was no time to waste because Patton was not a patient man.
Patton did not invade Normandy on D-Day. He was simply used as a decoy. Just the threat of Patton coming up on the beach was a frightening prospect for the Nazi’s.
But the speeches Patton gave to the troops prior to the D-Day invasion are the stuff of legend.
The most feared, respected, and controversial General of World War 2.
Nick named Old Blood and Guts.
The last thing a German soldier wanted to hear was he was going against Pattons troops. That was a sure sign defeat was coming.
Most Generals took over a town and wanted to dig in and protect what they gained. General Patton didn’t believe in that. He believed you took over a town and you went right on to the next town. Then the next town after that. Continue advancing all the time. That philosophy was very successful, but also a logistical nightmare.
An advancing army needs lots of supplies. Troops need food. Tanks need gas. Guns need bullets. When Patton began his advance (after D Day) keeping his troops supplied was a monumental effort. All of the railroads in France were destroyed by allied bombing. That left everything to be delivered by truck.
All the supplies arrived on the Normandy beaches. The further Patton’s 3rd army advanced the harder it was to keep his troops supplied. So they set up the Red Ball Express. This was a convoy of thousands of trucks traveling night and day (from the Normandy coast) to Patton’s advancing 3rd army.
They closed the road to all civilian traffic and lined the route with red balls. The red balls let trucks know they were going the right way. The trucks traveled bumper to bumper for miles. At night they didn’t use lights for fear of being attacked. Trucks traveling through unfamiliar towns (at night) carried significant risk. If one truck took a wrong turn it might drive off a cliff. The next 10 trucks might follow. When the 11th truck figured out the mistake it would correct and the convoy would continue on. There was no time to waste because Patton was not a patient man.
Patton did not invade Normandy on D-Day. He was simply used as a decoy. Just the threat of Patton coming up on the beach was a frightening prospect for the Nazi’s.
But the speeches Patton gave to the troops prior to the D-Day invasion are the stuff of legend.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Good Guys With Guns Not A Cure All After All......
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun”. (Wayne Lapierre NRA)
Right now in Canada there is a bad guy with a gun. So they sent 5 good guys with guns to go deal with him. 3 of them are now dead. The other 2 are in the hospital with bullet holes. The bad guy with the gun is still on the loose. So much for Waynes theory. It seemed so promising too.
Wonder if this incident will be in the NRA’s next brochure.
Having a gun might make you feel safer. But feeling safer, and being safer, are two different things.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Google VS Communist Red China.
Google VS Communist Red China –
This week is the 25th anniversary of the bloody uprising in Tiananmen Square. That is where the people of China gathered to demand freedom and democracy. In return they were crushed by the Communist Government. The problem was the government had tanks. The people did not. So the people lost.
Corporate America rewarded Communist China with Millions of American jobs and Billions of dollars.
See Corporate America was not allowed to trade with The old Communist Soviet Union. That was illegal. Communism was bad.
Corporate America was not (and is not) allowed to trade with Communist Cuba. That too is illegal. Communism is still bad.
But China has a billion poor people who could make lots of things for Corporate America really cheap. In China they are not required to work ONLY an 8 hour day. They are not required to get weekends off. They are not required to get unemployment insurance. They are not required to get medical insurance. Or Social Security insurance. They do not need to give sick days. You can treat workers in China like farm animals and it is all good.
So Communism in China was given a pass. Beating your own people was given a pass. Workers rights were given a pass. Consumer protections (or lack therof) were given a pass. Environmental protections were given a pass. The theft of intellectual property was given a pass. US National security concerns was given a pass.
Cheap slave labor thumps EVERYTHING. The more workers you can abuse the better. So corporate America put their moral compass in the drawer. They also put their patriotic compass in the drawer. All they saw were lots and lots of profits. Yum!
The said Capitalism would bring democracy. They lied!
So now that this milestone anniversary is upon us China doesn’t want anyone talking about it. Google (with their free flow of information) is public enemy #1 (for China). So China has shut Google down. There will be no talking about freedom or Democracy…..Not this week, not ever.
Now shut your mouth and get back to making iphones 18 hours a day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/business/chinas-battle-against-google-heats-up.html?_r=0#
This week is the 25th anniversary of the bloody uprising in Tiananmen Square. That is where the people of China gathered to demand freedom and democracy. In return they were crushed by the Communist Government. The problem was the government had tanks. The people did not. So the people lost.
Corporate America rewarded Communist China with Millions of American jobs and Billions of dollars.
See Corporate America was not allowed to trade with The old Communist Soviet Union. That was illegal. Communism was bad.
Corporate America was not (and is not) allowed to trade with Communist Cuba. That too is illegal. Communism is still bad.
But China has a billion poor people who could make lots of things for Corporate America really cheap. In China they are not required to work ONLY an 8 hour day. They are not required to get weekends off. They are not required to get unemployment insurance. They are not required to get medical insurance. Or Social Security insurance. They do not need to give sick days. You can treat workers in China like farm animals and it is all good.
So Communism in China was given a pass. Beating your own people was given a pass. Workers rights were given a pass. Consumer protections (or lack therof) were given a pass. Environmental protections were given a pass. The theft of intellectual property was given a pass. US National security concerns was given a pass.
Cheap slave labor thumps EVERYTHING. The more workers you can abuse the better. So corporate America put their moral compass in the drawer. They also put their patriotic compass in the drawer. All they saw were lots and lots of profits. Yum!
The said Capitalism would bring democracy. They lied!
So now that this milestone anniversary is upon us China doesn’t want anyone talking about it. Google (with their free flow of information) is public enemy #1 (for China). So China has shut Google down. There will be no talking about freedom or Democracy…..Not this week, not ever.
Now shut your mouth and get back to making iphones 18 hours a day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/business/chinas-battle-against-google-heats-up.html?_r=0#