Operation Arrowhead Ripper

A big question on everyone's mind is how the new offensive in Iraq is going and the answer is to read Michael Yon's Dispatches.

Michael is presently covering Operation Arrowhead Ripper and is witnessing the fighting firsthand.

Operation Arrowhead Ripper: Day One "The combat has only just begun, and media has now figured out this is serious business. During the morning brief (June 20th), Major Robbie Parke mentioned that CNN, TIME, Reuters and some others, are trying to get out here now. Problem is space. Looks like Gordon and I are mostly alone for now. Others are said to be in Baqubah, but if they are here, they are missing some of the most important parts, and if they were at the important commander's meetings, I would have seen them."

"The heat is intense for the enemy and for us. Soldiers, during any chance, would lay-down during the heat of day, and in complete body armor and helmets, fall asleep in the dirt. I took photos of course. Our guys are tough. The enemy in Baqubah is as good as any in Iraq, and better than most."

Reading through his dispatch on day one opens your eyes to the truth and not the whitewashed nonsense from the networks.

Note: After reading Operation Arrowhead Ripper, make sure you read Michael’s second dispatch, Arrowhead Ripper: Surrender or Die.

Michael Yon had suggested reading the writing of a reporter for the New York Times, Michael Gordon. Granted, the Times is a rather unlikely source for an open view of this war, but I was pleasantly surprised when following advise, I read, Michael Gordon’s story,

U.S. Seeks to Block Exits for Iraq Insurgents: “So the planners of this latest operation are attempting to plug the holes that have allowed the insurgents to escape in the past. The goal is not merely to reclaim western Baquba from insurgent control, but to capture or kill the estimated 300 fighters to 500 fighters who are believed to be based in that part of the city.”

This appears to be another source for good reporting.

My Thoughts

Yesterday, I blogged about a wonderful humanitarian rescue that men of the 82^nd Airborne Division accomplished when discovering an Iraqi orphanage which had neglected the children till they were near death.

Personally, I had watched the video on a news channel and was very moved over their actions. Then when going through the web, I discovered that no one was discussing it as much as it should have been.

Imagine my surprise yesterday evening when I began hearing negativity over the job these men had done. People were now saying that the neglect was as much to blame on the soldiers as it was the Iraqi's, perhaps even more so.

Okay people, naysayers, peace movement, news services and bleeding hearts of American, enough is enough!

Go into any big city and walk into a police station, ask the duty officer how many abuse cases were handled that month, even more so, pick up any newspaper, read any news service, abuse is wide spread and goes on within the sleepy towns of our nation. Some of these towns may only have the resources for a two or more man police department and these police know every person in the town, yet abuse occurs.

I know this to be a fact as I was a big city police officer and when we discovered abuse, it sickened me, infuriated me and at times moved me to tears, but we never even suspected it was taking place. You will ask why and the answer is we cannot go into every house in the city, just as our men in uniform cannot. Police often rely on the good will and caring of concerned citizens to report incidents of abuse, even the small ones.

The fact that the men of the 82^nd Airborne discovered this abuse and neglect was not police work, but karma, pure luck, if you will. A soldier looked over a wall and into the face of hell when he saw the children laying there. The neighbors never complained and do not think they did not know it was going on.

These men found a bad situation and they saved the lives of the children. America should be proud of their men in uniform for an act of kindness, not say they should have known. This makes me sick to discuss it any further.

Hillary Clinton Sopranos Parody

I know, it is Hillary. But, I love a good laugh too. This is a great take off on the Soprano ending. Heck, she even got old Bill to be in it.

If you were a Sopranos fan you will recognize the wize guy, looks like Johnny Sacks giving the bad eye to Hillary. He was whacked on the show, nice to see he lives, but he must be a Democrat. Well, we can't fault him for that.

Great spoof and worth the watch.

Ranter

Israel helping those in need

Speaking of humanitarian aid to others, Israel opened it border to allow the hundred of Palestinians who have been camped out there for six day in poor health conditions.

In a rare move on Wednesday, Israel's new defense minister ordered the army to allow into Israel any of the hundreds of Gazans holed up at a fetid crossing who might desperately need medical treatment.

This is taking place at the same time that Israeli fighter jets are hitting Palestinian rocket launchers in northern Gaza in the first Israeli airstrike since Hamas militants seized control of the coastal strip last week, the army said.

This shows the compassion Israel has for human beings, even though they may have been fighting some of these same men over the years, they are providing needed medical treatment.

Click here for full story and videos.

Soldiers rescue orphans near death

Yesterday I happened to tune in to the military news service and was immediately emotional over what I was witnessing. The sad comment to a wonderful humanitarian job done by our soldiers is that I had to dig for the article, not finding it anywhere. Had it not been for the announcer saying that CBS News shared the video, I would have never located it.

Click here for full article, you may not find it anywhere else.

Soldiers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division on a day patrol happened to look over a wall into the rear of an Iraqi orphanage and looked directly into his worst nightmare.

Here is a direct quote from the CBS News article, "They saw multiple bodies laying on the floor of the facility," Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson of the 82nd Airborne Division told CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan. "They thought they were all dead, so they threw a basketball (to) try and get some attention, and actually one of the kids lifted up their head, tilted it over and just looked and then went back down. And they said, 'oh, they're alive' and so they went into the building."

Sadly, this was a government-run orphanage for special needs children and had been kept this way for more than a month.

In another quote from the same article, "The kids were tied up, naked, covered in their own waste — feces — and there were three people that were cooking themselves food, but nothing for the kids," Lt. Stephen Duperre said."

I cannot do justice to the wonderful act of our men in uniform. Please, Click Here and watch the same video that I saw on the news service channel.

These men did a wonderful job and this story should be more than it is.

Taliban Offensive

What with the war in Iraq with our men and women are fighting daily battles that a lot of people would just as soon forget about, the politics, allegations and tensions, it is easy to forget that there is also a war in Afghanistan.

Fox News is reporting, "KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban militants overran a district in southern Afghanistan and are pushing for control of another key area, sparking fierce clashes with NATO and Afghan forces that have left more than 100 people dead over three days, officials said Tuesday."

"Hundreds of Taliban fighters launched raids on police posts near the strategic town of Chora in Uruzgan province Saturday, forcing NATO, backed by fighter jets, to respond. Fighting was continuing Tuesday, and some officials reported there have been dozens of civilian casualties."

It is evident that the Taliban is on an offensive and we must wonder is we have enough resources in place to handle the situation. So far, that answer would appear to be yes, but we will have to wit and see.

In the mean time, my thoughts and prayers are with the troops everywhere and especially in harms way.

Rockets fired at Israel

The news is reporting that two rockets were fired at Israel from inside Lebanon Sunday resulting in some damage, but no casualties.

The Hezbollah denied firing the rockets in a broadcast on the militant group's Al-Manar television.

This latest provocation, although being denided by Hezblooah can only be designed to raise the tensions between Isral and the Hezbollah.

Although a spokesperson for rime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel will only monitor the situation for the time being, it is evident that tensions are high.

Personally, Israel should not have received the pressure to withdraw from their last engagements with the Hezbollah. Although many reporters were saying that Israel were encountering many problems during that war that they did not count on, the fact remains that Israel fared a whole lot better than was being reported.

The situation in the Middle East would be better if the world would keep the restraints off Israel and allow them to protect their country.

Happy Fathers day

Growing up in the 1950 and 1960 era was an experience for my Father, and me we both learned from one another and grew up together.

My parents were young when they were married. WWII had just ended, the troops had returned home and a baby boom was taken place, suffice to say after all the welcome home parties, the people of my generation were being born like wildfire.

The 1950's were full of family time, home life and fond memories. The 1960's were tougher on me as well as my Father. I was just exerting my independence and my Father was doing his best to insure I did not exert too much.

Overall, my relationship with my Father became very strained, we tended to argue extensively, frankly, the majority it was my fault. I was young, on the wild side and made far too many mistakes. My Father tended to argue instead of being a teacher and that only added fuel to the fire.

A few years in the military cooled us both down, I did not return home until after my enlistment was over. When I did come home, I discovered that not only had I matured into a man, my Father had grown as well, understanding, loving and wishing to have his son back.

Some people have said that life is a mixture of tragedy and comedy and I found that to be an accurate description of my youth. However, once I became a son to my Father and him a Father to me, this all changed and we formed a better relationship between us that lasted for many years.

My Father is gone now, as well as all of my family, there are many times that I think of him fondly and with love and I have come to the realization that Father's do not ever leave us, they are always with us and I can see him every time that I look into the mirror.

Happy Fathers day to Fathers everywhere, it is a difficult task filled with love and today they should all be remembered.

ID Cards discovered

It was just released that military units operating north of Baghdad have found the ID cards of two of the missing soldiers in an al-Qaeda safe house.

In a quote from the story, "The military statement said the ID cards of Spec. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Pvt. Byron Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan, were discovered along with computers, video production equipment, rifles and ammunition at the otherwise empty house near Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad."

I have written in the past that the enemies our troops face do not take prisoners of war, they only take captives for later torture and slaughter, this is disgusting and yet we have portions of the American people who feel we are in the wrong and members of Iraq and the Muslim world saying we are the barbarians.

.In past wars if we were captured we knew we would face torture and mistreatment at the hands of our captives, yet there was always that hope that if we survived, we would come home. This is not the case in Iraq and it is a sad comment that a few of the returning troops I have spoken with have told stories of their desire to save the last round for themselves if faced with insurmountable odds in battle and the possibility of being captured. They knew they would face torture and beheading and the possibility their families would see the videos broadcast on the Internet, they were not going to permit this to happen.

This is not an enemy, but uncontrolled murder by an armed populace, noting more and they do not deserve any respect, none what so ever.

Simper FI General Pace

As a veteran of the Army and many years serving on a big city police department, a quasi-military organization, I have spent the majority of my life in uniform and carrying a weapon. During all of those years I have had occasion to see men of high caliber, moral fiber and professionalism be forced out of a ranking positions, then as in all forms of military units the individual was simply expected to fall on their sword, as all good soldiers must do.

Thus, I read the decision of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace to turn down an offer to voluntarily retire rather than be forced out of office as that of the caliber of men that made the Marine Corps into the proud unit it is today.

General Pace's only transgression is that he was the proverbial sheep led to slaughter for the Bush administration and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. They needed someone of high ranking to take the blame for a lot of the negative publicity they were receiving on the war in Iraq. What better person to send to the wolves then the chairmen of the whole ball of wax.

They knew he was a professional soldier and as such was expected to simply say yes sir, retire and fade away as General Douglas McArthur said all officers do and they were incorrect in their thinking.

General Pace is one man who felt taking this position when his beloved corps and the entire military, which he was in control of was fighting a war was simply not done and will serve out his remaining time of office.

General Pace should be proud of many of the things the military has accomplished while he has been in control. Yes, there have been incidents occur which he took the blame for as all men of high character do, but the truth in the matter is the orders for some of the programs came from individuals in a higher position then he.

My hat is off to a man who stands by his record and his decisions, simper fi General.

Dude, you’re getting a Dell

I just cannot make news like this up. I just finish posting about Russia's offer for us to use their radar and now I read that they are accusing NASA of damaging their computers with the new power array the shuttle crew installed on the space station. Only in the depth of space, can one small incident destroy a space station and possibly force the crew on it to return to Earth.

Perhaps they should have upgraded the hardware long ago, maybe Dell can offer them a good deal and the shuttle can deliver them on the next trip, if there is a next trip.

We could even get the old Dell spokesperson out of retirement, college, probation or wherever he is to call Putin and scream, "Dude, you're getting a Dell!

One would assume that a space station would have controls in place to handle little things like magnetic discharges, electrical fields and all that cool high tech stuff, but we have to remember that it was built by the lowest bidders and that may have cost a few more million bucks or so.

Whenever I read about the space station, I always envision that scene from the Brice Willis film, Armageddon where we see a beat up, run down station manned by one very lonely Russian who beats the hell out of the equipment to make it work. Little did I know that that was very near the truth to what is still circling the Earth.0

Perhaps it is time to build a new and improved station, one with better computers, if nothing else, maybe Putin can go to his nearest Russian rent to own and get a few new computers for the station, if they will even rent to them.

The Russians are coming

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! How many times during the cold war did these four words strike fear into the hearts of our fellow citizens? Well, guess what, it is about to start again. That is right, you heard it here first, the cold war is going to get cold again.

Well, not really that cold, Russia is but a shell of what it once was. Their military is in disarray and shambles with soldiers and officers on the county's food program. The navy is non-existent; in fact, I recently watched a government sting operation where an undercover agent bought a Russian submarine. The agent was dealing with a known Russian arms smuggler who had turned allegiance when faced with jail and helped the agents, when he spoke to Russian officials about buying a sub, they asked if that was with or without the missiles!

Wow, I could buy a nuclear sub with missiles and crew? I wonder if the bank, oh never mind.

What Russia does have is nuclear weapons and lots of them. In fact, news reports often question the safety and fact of just who has their finger on the button, but they do have them and will point them where needed to tick the west off.

We are caught in a political quagmire with Russia over our country wanting to place star-wars defense missiles in Poland and elsewhere. Russia should not be as worried as they are, we don't even know if the darn things work well or not. If the first Gulf war was any indication of our star wars readiness capability, they should not be worried at all; in fact they should get a kick out of it.

Most of us can remember the sirens going off in Israel, news cameras tracking an incoming scud missile, complements of Saddam and the explosions in the air as we were told that Patriot missiles had taken it down. That was the furthest from the truth, in fact, we did not hit many of them, well, actually none at all, but hey, it sure made for great television!

Russia had offered to share their radar with America and that not only took President Bush by surprise, but the Russian officer corps as well. When you stop and think about it, taking them up on that would have made us something we have not been since WWII, allies. Wow, can't have that happen, where would we get all the press converges from if they were our allies? Besides that obvious reason, Russian military hardware is suppose to be in pretty bad shape, with no money for repairs and the men using them are underpaid, or not paid at all.

We will just have to wait and see how everything plays out, but one thing is clear, this is going to make for interesting reading for a while. I wonder if Putin will take his shoe off and pound on the podium at the United Nations. I guess that would be asking for too much, but it sure would make for great television, perhaps Putin is practicing as we speak.

Future weapons: Dragon Skin (amazing body armour!)

This episode goes into the Dragon Skin body armor. Watch and see for yourself.

Dragon Skin

There has been quite a bit of discussion in Washington and the media about our military body armor.

Apparently, Dragon Skin body armor, manufactured by, Pinnacle Armor has initiated quite a battle in Washington and within the media over if it passed military testing or failed them. Some of the people from the armor's company have said the military testing results were created to show their body armor failed.

In the mean time, NBC broadcast results using the opinion of a highly respected test scientist, Dr. Phillip Coyle - the former director of test and evaluation at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration to certify results of side-by-side tests conducted at NBC's expense in Germany.

That was all well and good until the Senate called him to testify and he was confronted with all of the military testing data, then he stated under oath that the Dragon Skin body armor "was not ready for prime time." Click Here for full article.

While all of this is going on the body armor has had quite a bit of media attention on The History Channel and The Discovery Channel on shows like, Mail Call and FutureWeapons. Both hosts were drooling over the armor and could not believe the results of direct hits.

It will take a while to sort all of the conflicting testimony and independent tests results out, but for now it defiantly appears that the body armor will not be issued to our military.

I have included a video from the show FutureWeapons in which the host fires every imaginable type of round at the vest and then, believe this or not, sets off a fragmentation grenade under the vest with zero penetration!

I don’t know what the military tests encompassed, but from the video I am totally impressed. Just about any combat vet reading this will tell you that a fragmentation grenade at that range will make for a very bad day and here we can clearly see that the shrapnel did not penetrate the Dragon Skin body armor.

This made a believer out of me!

After watching this video I have to admit that something just is not right about the whole negativity from the military. It is evident that more people needs to become involved in this and have independent studies done.

On a personal note, I wore body armor for a large part of my life, from its bulky and big inception to today’s lightweight vests. If I was in a situation again where I would have to wear body armor, I would be wearing Dragon Skin.

www.military.com has a link for people to contact public officials on Dragon Skin, I am including their link here.

Alert: Tell your public officials how you feel about this issue.

Contractor or Mercernary?

I recently watched a show about private security in Iraq and the incident which occurred in Fallujah where six Blackwater independent contractors were killed when their Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by an RPG. (See Wikipedia under history)

Private security contractors such as Blackwater fall under different rules of engagement then the military. They can respond if fired upon, if their loves or that of another is in danger and here is the kicker, when they do open fire they fall under international laws of mercenaries, not private security contractors.

If anyone recalls the late 1960 and 1970's when Mad Mike Hoare was a soldier for hire in the Congo, Nigeria and a failed coup attempt in which he gained fame and imprisonment being a gun for hire can be quite dangerous from the international law standpoint.

That was then, today there are just not enough military personnel to go around and the Pentagon is subcontracting a lot of the daily convoy and executive protection out to private security firms.

I have mixed feelings over private security in a war zone. On one hand, if I were younger I would probably be seriously contemplating working for this company.

On the other hand, the very thought that I would be liable under the international mercenary laws, should I become involved in a firefight, well, that really would make me stop and think before I would take a job like that.

Whatever laws they re governed under, these individuals are out there, day after day doing a job that our military does not have the resources to do and I for one take my hats off to them.

Note: There is a wonderful video at Military.com on private security in Iraq, unfortunantly I am unable to imbed their video here, Click Here if you wish to watch it.

No give and take

I recently watched a show on the National Geographic channels about a Green Beret team inside of Afghanistan, titled, Inside the Green Beret's. It showed the tensions within the Muslim community and how they were reacting to the presence of American troops. They were also questioning their safety and the safety of their children, asking of the Taliban struck, would the Green Beret's be able to protect them.

All in all it was a testament to the dedication and professionalism of the men serving on the A-Team in Afghanistan and their constant battle to stay one step ahead of the Taliban.

The National Geographic film crew became embroiled in a lot more realism then they had bargained for when a Green Beret vehicle they were in was struck by an IED, improvised explosive device, killing and wounding a total of seven men, Green Beret's and film crew.

It was a very sad moment and one that was caught on film.

What had struck me about this incident was footage that was shown earlier on in the episode taken of Muslim Taliban fighters as a member of their team ran a vehicle into a Green Beret vehicle in a suicide attack.

The translation of one of the Taliban's prayers the moment the suicide bomber activated his explosives struck a note of terror deep within me. The depth of the hatred in his prayer towards American's made me realize even more so that this is far from over.

Their hatred of our lifestyle dictates that they will pursue destruction with their last breaths, yet there are those here at home who feel that all we have to do is pull our troops out and it will be over. This man's prayers answered that question and even more, no it will not be over, it will not be over because that genuinely hate us, everything about us.

The only way this will ever end is to destroy every last one of them, there can be no give and take in this, it is impossible.

If this show "Inside the Green Beret's" is shown again on a National Geographic channel near you then it would be a truly educational experience to watch the entire program and you too will understand exactly what I am saying, there can be only one answer to this war, that is if it is not too late.

Bye-Bye Tony

Tony Soprano lives and is having dinner with his family, or is he? We left him listening to Journey's Don't Stop Believin' , his wife and son sitting across the booth and his daughter running into the restaurant. What appeared to be two hit men, or two FBI agents was played well by the camera, building up to what I thought was going to by Tony's swan song, bang. However, that was not to be as just as Journey sand, "Don't' Stop" and we see Tony looking up, the film goes to black.

I thought something was wrong with my HBO feed, hit the rewind on my DVR and nope, it was on purpose! I can well imagine the comments over the next few days over one of television’s hottest shows. I am sure critics and viewers will be dissecting the ending for some time and I have to wonder just how many viewers called their cable companies saying their cable went out at the Tony Soprano’s crucial moment, only to be told, nope, sorry, that was the end, you wre robbed, but hey, that sure was fun.

David Chase you robbed us all! Well, at least everyone will be talking about the ending for quite a long time to come.

Well, Rome is over, now the Soprano's, it is either time to find something to do at night or another show to watch.

Time will tell

I have always found it to be a sad experience to watch a second term President's popularity and political power fade into nothingness.

This is the case with President Bush, once the proud leader of the free world, standing on the ground of the World Trade Center, pointing to its remains and telling the firemen that soon the people that did this will hear them.

President Bush was the leader of a country involved in a war, not on another nation, a standing army, but a war on terrorism, wherever they may hide; we were going to eradicate them from the earth.

People applauded, young men and women enlisted in the military with the sole desire to take it to the people who did this to our country. Everyone proudly displayed their American flags, outside, affixed to their windows, vehicles and lapel pins, patriotism was high and the country wanted to fight back.

Slowly the politicians began questioning the President's policies and they began to question their support as well. Silently the support began to fade into oblivion until from a political standpoint, there was nothing left, but a lame duck President unable to garner enough votes to back any of his programs.

I personally find this very sad indeed, President Bush has said from the beginning that he did not care about his standing in the popularity polls, or his support in political circles, but when that support really does disappear, reality sets in.

History alone will be the sole judge for the Bush years; it will not judge him by his politics, but his actions and how they affected the country and the world.

One hundred years from now other generations will study the Bush years in school, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the secret black-ops war that took place behind the scenes that is now the daily headlines. Perhaps some teacher will lecture how poorly the President's policies were and how badly they affected other countries, or just maybe, they will explain to the students that the freedoms they enjoy and the peace in the world was the result of actions one hundred years ago began by one man, George W. Bush.

Either that or just maybe they will be no one around in which to teach to, only time will tell and be the judge.

PARIS HILTON GOES BACK TO JAIL! Exclusive Video

I still of a sense of humor and this is too darn funny not to share with everyone. It is a take off on the Paris Show.

Enjoy.

It’s the Paris Show

I would like to pose a hypothetical question. If you received a ticket for speeding and when you got to court you saw ten thousand other people who received the same ticket paying a fine at the clerks window, then when it was your turn you were told you had to go to jail for three months, would you think this was fair?

No, not one of you would think that was too fair, Well, that is exactly the case in California with Paris Hilton. Okay, I know, she is a rich party animal with no concern for anyone but herself, Oh, I agree with that statement just as much as everyone else does, but does that mean she should receive a harsher penalty for driving with a suspended driver's license?

Because, that is all that she did, a minor traffic offense, not murder, robbery, buggery on the high seas, driving with a suspended driver's license.

Look at it this way:

Mary Winkler was sentenced Friday to serving 210 days in prison. This is the minimum time she must serve out of a total three years, 1,095 day sentence, her offense was murder; she killed her preacher husband with a shotgun blast to the back as he lay sleeping in bed.

Paris Hilton was sentenced to 45 days, without home release or electronic monitoring; her offense was driving under a suspended driver's license

In Mary Winkler's case, the people of the state of Tennessee were happy that justice was served and went about their normal day.

In the case of Paris Hilton, every news service, reporter, paparazzi, news photographer, anyone with news credentials were camped outside of her West Hollywood home, while four helicopters continuously circled the estate. When Paris was ordered to court, the entire circus moved to the new location.

The major news services were live from the courthouse and home for over five hours. Once in awhile they would break away to something else in the news, war, the pentagon, what have you, then quickly return to the Paris show.

On Fox News when a spokesperson came out and informed everyone that Paris Hilton was taken back to jail to serve her remaining 45 day sentence, the anchor of Studio B, Shepard Smith was almost giddy with excitement and openly mocking Paris crying because she was crying in the courtroom and telling her Mother and Father that she loved them.

Edward R. Murrow would have turned over in his grave.

I am not a Paris Hilton fan, nor do I really care what she is doing on a daily basis. What I am is disgusted over the feeding frenzy that has been going on over her. I do feel that in this specific instance, the conviction for driving under a suspended driver's license, the judge went overboard, totally overboard in handing down the sentence that he did for a minor traffic offense.

The penalty should be the same for all citizens and in this case it was so far out of the ballpark that it is unconstitutional, yes, and a direct violation of her constructional rights. Not many individuals are sentenced to that harsh of an incarceration for a traffic offense, not many indeed.

The judge did not sentence the crime, but the lifestyle and that is wrong.

I am sickened over this and even more so with a legal system that throws all caution to the wind and all of its resources behind prosecuting a celebrity over a traffic offense.

It says it all when a murderer gets 210 days in prison and a celebrity 45 days for driving on a suspended driver's license.

d-day, band of brothers, parachute drop ww2

I wanted to post this yesterday, but did not get the chance. Here is a video that says it all for D-Day.

You can click on any of the video links at the bottom for additional Band of Brothers videos on You Tube.

Band of Brothers, D-Day, Day of Days video

Don’t let me take off my shoe

While reading through this morning's news I came across an article where President Bush has assured everyone that Russia will not attack Europe. My initial response was, er, uh, okay. Well, I am really glad about that, but how does he know?

If we look back over the past threats, I mean, comments from Putin, he did not actually say he would attack Europe, just point his nuclear tipped missiles at it. Kind of like one of those off-the-wall Hallmark cards, the thought is still there, but not really, you just have to wait and see type threat.

President Bush though has a bit of insider, leader of the free world information that insures Russia will only point, not really launch. I guess that would give a whole new meaning to the "I didn't know it was loaded" defense.

One thing is clear, Vladimir Putin does not appear to like President Bush very much, that or he just likes to make idle threats. I am not really sure which is correct, but I am sure we will all find out, sooner or later.

Putin just feels that Russia is not taken seriously anymore. Back in the good old cold war days they could make a threat and in direct response entire military divisions would move, nuclear bombers would be placed on alert and world leaders would wonder if this was the big one or not.

That just may be it; Russia is trying to make threats just as it did in the old days. Ah yes, good old Nikita Khrushchev, taking off his shoes and banging on the podium while hollering, "We shall bury you", now that was threats.

Today things are a bit different. The Berlin wall is in a museum; along with checkpoint charley and Russia's military is but a ghost of what it once was with high ranking officers on the government food program. This can be blamed on the fall of communism, the wall, the temperature, or whatever, the fact remains, they want a little respect, what better way then the good old style of maybe we will blow you up and then again, maybe we wont.

We can only hope this is the case, either that or it may be time to dust off the old air raid sirens again.

D-Day, June 6, 1944

June 6, 1944 was the day that the free world struck back against German occupation of Europe as American forces stormed the beaches of France in Operation Overlord.

As American military exited their landing crafts they were met with a storm of machine gun fire from well fortified German emplacements, the casualties were high and through courage, determination and the sheer will to live the men who comprised the invasion force persevered.

The invasion force had assistance from the airborne forces dropped behind the lines prior to the invasion.

Casualties were high with thousands of lives lost, but through it all the men who took the war to the doorsteps of Hitler's Germany were determined to win at all costs and they did.

Today we look back upon the sacrifices and heroism of these brave souls as we pause to reflect and celebrate their successes.

My head hurts now

Let's step back and look at things in a different perspective. Iraq is insane, Afghanistan is fighting more Taliban, politicians are talking out of the sides of their mouth and where does the interest of America rest? The headlines all have to do with how Paris Hilton is getting along in jail, what she had for lunch and if she has been crying or not!

Now, that is just about the dumbest, most insane comments I have ever made and it will only get worse as her jail time grows.

Her only claim to fame is the fact that she likes a good party. Wow, if only the rest of her age had that many problems! They only worry about silly little things, like, I don't know, maybe if they are going to pass that final exam, or if they do graduate from College, is there going to be a job for them where they do not have to ask, "Would you like fries with that?". Let's not forget that many others are concerned if they will make it through this tour in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This is while Paris has attended most of the parties and made a few porn movies. The fact that she operated a motor vehicle while under suspension, well, in all honesty, I feel the prosecutor was trying to make a name for himself, nothing more. That and to prove that the California legal system can try a celebrity and get a guilty verdict. They sure have not had much success in the past, with OJ and Robert Blake, now this time they were determined to get it right.

The court system where she was tried is perhaps, one of the busiest court systems in the country. The fact that she had a trial in the first place meant that a few people has to be plea bargained to a lesser offense. In the long run, that was good for the individuals it affected, but bad for the justice system as a whole.

The system goes about its merry way and the country wonders if Paris will meet a new friend in the shower. Talk about pornography, this is disgusting and just about as obscene as it can get.

Yesterday's headlines all dealt in some manner or another with her going to jail and the country ate it up faster then chocolate cake at a kids birthday.

Perhaps that is where our military went worng, they need to start attending more A-list parties and then they will get noticed.

This and That

I hate it when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, cranky, grouchy and looking for my first cup of morning ambition. The very fact that I am in this state of mind tends to make for an even worse mood, if that were even possible. In any case, I trudged on through my morning routines of massive intakes of caffeine and reading as much news as possible before my mind explodes, consuming my thoughts and turning me into a raving lunatic.

Wow, I really went off into no man's land there foe a second, must be all of that caffeine!

In any case, I saw a breaking news headline that stated, "Islamic Militant Group Says Video Shows Planning And Kidnapping Of 3 Soldiers In Iraq and plan to show it on web site" and that just about put my mental stability into that of a screaming, raving lunatic.

These disgusting, revolting individuals first brag about breaking the invincibility of the American soldier, then they murder one of their captives and now this?

These people disgust me.

You got to have hope!

I came across an article discussing a guy in Poland just coming out of a 19 year coma and seeing how his once drab, shades of whites and grey country has changed since he went nighty-night. The headline the news service had bestowed upon the miracle of someone recovering from a lengthy coma as that was of course, disgusting, 'Living Corpse' Wakes After 19-Year Coma.

I guess that referring to someone as a zombie will bring more readers than discussing a miracle! The article reminded me that we should never give up hope, no matter how bad it may get.

Iran's President goes even deeper into insanity.

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is often quoted calling for the open destruction of the state of Israel. This throw-back to the Stone Age has just about enough brains in his head to create a thought process, but he just cannot seem to create one that makes sense.

Mr. Dum-Dum Ahmadinejad in the past has called for the open destruction of the state of Israel. This time out, he has stated the Palestinians and Lebanese have pushed the countdown button on the destruction of Israel.

At the rate that Iran is going with their nuclear garbage, Ahmadinejad the dum-dum should be more concerned over the possibilities his country may soon become ground zero then anything else.

And to think I was wondering why I was in such a bad mood this morning.

A bad moon a rising

It is interesting to note that while our Congress is attempting to scale down and withdraw from the war in Iraq that al-Qaeda is planning full scale nuclear attacks in seven US cities, according to a book titled, "The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World,".

As usual, people within our government fail to see the forests for the trees in the never ending quest to pull the US out of a war.

The article paints a bleak picture based on information, intelligence, interviews and conjecture, however it is written, the very thought of nuclear attacks upon the United States is enough to drive one to the air raid shelters, that is if they are still functioning after all these years.

The book authored by investigative reporter and former FBI consultant Paul Williams reveals the alarming potential for nuclear terrorism on U.S. soil and dwells on a few of the culprets who will be responsible, al-Qaeda of course, the primary.

Williams says these cities are New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Miami, Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles.

The article provides confirmation to these events by, "FBI Director Robert Mueller, who in an interview with NewsMax, confirmed Williams' main claim. Mueller said al-Qaida's paramount goal is clear: to detonate a nuclear device that would kill hundreds of thousands of Americans."

Since the attacks which took place on 9/11 people everywhere have prophesied the additional doom and gloom yet to come at the hands of al-Qaeda. Has anyone in the government anti war circles ever stepped back and actually listened to any of these comments?

It would be pretty difficult to miss any one it, they are even a part of our weekly coffee get together at the local coffee shop. Sooner or later the talk of what al-Qaeda has up their sleeve will pop up during our arm chair quarterback discussions of the world.

If everyday people such as my coffee buddies an me are discussing the event s to come, then someone, somewhere in the government at least has to think about it once!

Along these same lines of thought, one can just about forecast what will take place within our government should one of the pictures of death and destruction take place, name calling, passing the blame and the buck will be first and foremost, that is if anyone is left to do this, should one of the forecasts actually take place.

We can only hope that someone, somewhere in the political government nest of anti-war politicians is thinking of these exact scenarios and putting plans into action to combat them. However, the truth to the whole thing is sadder yet, they are not thinking, not planning and when it is too late, they will just blame the other guy.