Mad Mike!

This is coolbert:

There have been a number of successful military commanders who have been known by the appellation of "Mad Mike".

Military commanders [first name Michael of course] renowned for taking personal risks on the battlefield. Often in support of their own men.

"The degree to which he led very risky attacks in person, led to him becoming widely known as 'Mad Mike'."

Men of superior soldiering ability who recognized as being so by their peers.

Men who dared and won on a number of battlefields. Men NOT always loved, but at least highly respected.

Unconventional officers whose appellation of "Mad" is a tribute rather than a curse.

One such man was "Mad Mike" Calvert.

Promising young officer in the years prior to World War Two [WW2]. A boxing champion, an educated man, a man of vigor and elan'. [that term elan' again. Means spirited action!!]

Was a Chindit commander in WW2. Served and studied under the famous General Orde Wingate.

Consider this incident involving "Mad Mike":

"He learned that a friend (Major Ian MacPherson) had been killed and his body left in the Japanese positions, and his Brigade Major had to threaten him with a revolver to prevent him returning alone to retrieve it."

Was a senior commander of the British counter-insurgency forces in Malaya in the 1950's. Was instrumental in devising successful counter-guerilla tactics particular to that conflict.

Left the military with a cloud hanging over his head however. Was not redeemed until recently. Such persons DO develop enemies.

Another "Mad Mike" of military fame was Mike Hoare.

Colonel Thomas Michael Hoare, alias-"MAD MIKE"



A British officer who led white mercenary commando units during the 1960's in the Congo. A man who leadership style is exemplified by his comment that, "commanders must eschew the fleshpots". A strict disciplinarian who personally meted out punishment to recalcitrant soldiers under his command.

"Colonel Hoare was always keen to promote good discipline in the men under his command. On finding out that a mercenary in a unit fighting alongside his own unit had raped and killed a young girl, he had the man tried. The sentence was for the criminal's big toes to be removed, as he had enjoyed playing professional football. Hoare personally shot off the man's toes with an automatic pistol."

The career of Mike Hoare did also not end on a happy note. Participated in an abortive coup d'etat, and a hijacking of an airplane, for which he received a prison sentence.

Lastly, here is also an American military officer who received the nickname of "Mad Mike":

From the battlefields of the war in Rhodesia [1970's], comes the name of Major "Mad Mike" Williams. American officer who joined the fight as a CAVALRY officer. Executive officer of Grey's Scouts.

"Whilst mainly Rhodesian (black and white), it also had a substantial number
of foreign enlistee's, one being a Major Mike Williams an American who was
Stephens 2IC."

A Rhodesian cavalry unit that specialized in scouting and man-tracking. As strange as it may sound, this unit of cavalry was successful. Performed in an admirable fashion. [if used as intended, for scouting and man-tracking, the unit worked fine. To employ them in other roles would not have been a good idea.] Major "Mad Mike" was a "romantic" [a persons who yearns for a bygone era]. But an excellent soldier and man who commanded with stature. Later returned to the U.S. and ran for Congress unsuccessfully. I am sure his biography of this period would be most interesting.

"Mad", but not in a bad way. A GOOD way. Maybe at some time in war, "mad" is what is needed.

coolbert.

Disease.

This is coolbert:

Tropical diseases comeback.

This comment by a reader was also made:

"Now that there has been progress against tropical health hazards, it would seem that it is the worthless places which still have virulent malaria, bad water diseases, etc."

This is true.

There has been a lot of progress made toward the prevention of tropical diseases.

A lot of the basic research concerning tropical disease prevention has had a strong military connection .

Such as the search for an inoculation against yellow fever.

Yellow feaver has for a long tme been a destroyer of troops and even whole armies. An entire French army sent by Napoleon to put down a rebellion in Haiti was annihilated by yellow fever!!

The desire to prevent yellow fever amongst U.S. Army troops in Cuba. led to the pioneering research of Dr. Walter Reed.

During the digging of the Panama Canal, the research of Walter Reed was instrumental in formulating policies to eradicate the mosquito that carried yellow fever. Policies that led to a successful military style campaign that basically eliminated the yellow fever carrying mosquito. The "big ditch" was completed due to this disease eliminating prophylactic.

"Similarly, the same techniques [techniques used by Walter Reed in Cuba] were used a few years later in Panama, which had suffered regular and devastating yellow fever epidemics. Panama has not seen even a single case since. It is widely held that it was only then possible to build the Panama Canal. This is another example of how the pressures of war can lead to a powerful and useful medical innovation."

Sadly enough, the fight against tropical disease is deteriorating in some areas. The incessant warfare found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa [black Africa], has meant that preventative care is now totally lacking. Where great progress was once had, now a situation of chaos exists. Brought upon by warlords and their never-ending wars.

Brutal wars in west Africa have caused trained medical personnel to flee. Medicines are next to non-existent. Prophylactic measures have been abandoned for want of the most meager resources. All because of war.

[malaria can easily be combated and contained by the use of micro-netting. Used when sleeping. Prevents mosquito bites from transmitting the disease. Diets can easily be improved dramatically with the simple addition of micro-nutrients. Better diet means better health, which lessens susceptibility to disease. Just for a small cost per person, a lot of prevention can be had. This is not happening. Chaos and instability from war is to blame.]

"Supplements of both vitamin A and zinc may boost children's resistance to malaria, which kills 600,000 young children each year, according to early evidence from a study in Papua New Guinea. One third of children receiving vitamin A had lower fevers due to mild to moderately high levels of malaria parasites."

NONE of this can be done in the chaotic situations created by war.

In the years prior to the Rhodesian war, the "white" government had instituted a program to eradicate the tse-tse fly. Carries sleeping sickness, infecting humans and domestic animals. This program was ALMOST successful. The war against "white" rule stopped the program. A program that was NOT re-instituted by the black government of the dictator Mugabe. Mugabe has money to buy MIG-29 jet aircraft, but not money for eradicating a terrible pest. Such are the priorities of dictators.

The various warlords and militias at their command are also doing immense environmental damage. Damage that will only exacerbate the disease problem. Experts are of the belief that a whole lot more dangerous diseases currently unknown to science lurk in the jungles of central Africa. All that clear cutting of forests, and mining for coltan will release these diseases such as Ebola into the human population, wreaking terrible havoc.

[one of the most interesting scientific endeavors of recent memory was the mega-transect of central Africa by the American scientist Michael Fay. Walked across a good portion of the remaining rain forest surveying the flora and fauna as he went. Surprisingly found large pre-historic terraced areas and large pre-historic mounds of cola nuts. Indicates that a massive population must have at one time occupied and area that for all of recorded history has been only been rain forest. People 2000 years ago cleared much of the forest and planted crops on the land. Something wiped them out. Disease from the jungle??? Nothing is really known for sure.]

War can be bad for your health!!! Especially so in the jungle or around the jungle!!

coolbert.

Proxies.

This is coolbert:

The comment has been made:

"If it is true that the virulent falciparum malaria never existed in Japan, then the susceptibility to it, may have been equal on both sides.

The Japanese did not have DDT, but that only started being used towards the end of the war, I thought.

Given the very high casualties from malaria, why didn't proxies get used more, from populations less susceptible?"

Proxies were used by allied forces both in New Guinea and Burma.

1. In New Guinea, the actual combat was left to American and Australian forces. Native units were formed, but performed mostly as menial construction laborers and porters. Did this type of work willingly and did a very good job. To what extent they were not effected by the tropical and jungle diseases I cannot say. "Native" combat arms units to repel Japanese attack DID NOT exist!!

2. In Burma, the British 14th Army was a very heterogeneous force.

Consisted of soldiers from England, west Africa, and British Indian Army troops, to include Ghurkhas. Also had a large force of Burmese levies. The latter acting again mostly as menial construction laborers or porters.

You would have thought that the Africans, Burmese, Ghurkhas, and troops from the Indian sub-continent would have had a tolerance for the tropical climate and a better ability to handle tropical diseases. Was this the case? I cannot say. I do believe that troops of all nationalities were more or less victims of the jungle. The tropical climate and jungle environment had no respect for nationality, inflicting harm on all more or less equally!!??

Japanese troops too were not immune to the vicissitudes of jungle warfare.

Were also victims of their own success in the early part of the war. Continued to use tactics that were outmoded by 1944 for jungle fighting.

The ability of the Japanese soldier on the offensive was based to a large extent on the premise that enemy food stores could be captured and utilized. Japanese offensives moved forward initially with great rapidity because of this reason. The great battles in Malaya and Burma [1941-1942], where the Japanese emerged victorious, were a result of such tactics.

Advance, capture the food of the enemy, advance, capture more food, advance, etc.

"The explanation of the Japanese soldier's astonishing jungle mobility was really very simple. His primitive supply system was used almost exclusively for ammunition . . . he was expected to feed himself from captured supplies."

By 1944 the British had caught on. Deprive the attacking Japanese from capturing food from your own stocks and they [Japanese] starved!! As simple as that!!

"they [Japanese] were foolish to imagine that the British had not learned some lessons from their defeats, and that these would be applied sooner than later."

A starving soldier in the jungle is obviously much more susceptible to tropical diseases.

"For their part, the Japanese had reached the limit of their endurance. A prisoner . . . stated that he and comrades and been existing on nothing but roots for ten days."

"The orders for the attack [Japanese attack], found on the body of the major who had led it, were as follows: '2nd Battalion 122nd Regiment will attack and destroy the enemy in the nullah. Objects of the attack: (a) to procure food; (b) to destroy the enemy."

[this Japanese battalion attacked with a complement of 76 men remaining from a total of 1000 that existed two weeks earlier!!! The attack failed!!!]

coolbert.

Orange.

This is coolbert:

One of the most controversial aspects of the Vietnam War was the use of defoliants.

Defoliants used to destroy the jungle canopy that hid enemy troops so well. A jungle canopy that offered camouflage for VC/NVA units. Camouflage that had to be denied.

Denying this jungle canopy was the target of defoliants such as Agent Orange.

It was the policy of U.S. military planners in Vietnam to deny the enemy vegetative cover within 400 meters either side of a main supply route [MSR] or a line of communication [LOC]. Defoliants and clear cutting were a means to ensure that the enemy could not conceal themselves in ambush along such routes.

Defoliants were widely used in Vietnam to this end. The application of Agent Orange from the back of trucks, from helicopters, and from aerial aircraft such as the C-123 was successful. Repeated, periodic spraying did deprive the enemy of cover so essential for a successful ambush to be conducted!!

The debate has always been at what cost to civilians and soldiers, Vietnamese and American both? Detriment to the environment for a very long term has also been a concern even decades after the last application of the herbicide was applied!!

"Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, Blue, White, and Green) contained dioxins which are alleged to have caused harm to the health of those exposed during the Vietnam War."

"Our Enemy was also the Agent Orange, Agent Blue, Agent Pink and Agent White that we know about that they sprayed directly on top of us in the early years in Vietnam in our Area of Operation."

Agent Orange was just ONE of a series of similar herbicides available to the U.S. military.

Other herbicides included:

* Agent Purple - - "Agent Purple was used only in the earliest stages of the spraying program, between 1962 and 1964. Only small amounts were sprayed in total."

* Agent Pink - - "Agent Pink was only used during the early "testing" stages of the spraying program, and was no longer used after 1964."

* Agent Blue - - "It was sprayed on rice paddies and other crops, in an attempt to starve the Vietnamese of valuable crops. Agent Blue is a mixture of two arsenic-containing compounds . . . Agent Blue is chemically unrelated to the more infamous Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the war."

* Agent White - - "Unlike the more infamous Agent Orange, Agent White did not contain dioxin"

* Agent Green - - "Agent Green was only used between 1962 and 1964, during the early "testing" stages of the spraying program."

More on these defoliants and their effect later!!

coolbert.

Jungle II.

This is coolbert:

As you might expect, the U.S. military in Vietnam was vastly better prepared and equipped to handle the rigors of jungle disease than it was in World War Two [WW2].

Was aware of the circumstances and DID provide better prophylactic care to the troops in the field. Medications, food, water, were all better, period.

Experience from WW2 had taught the doctors to be more alert for signs of problems from the start. Doctors knew how diagnose and treat jungle illnesses.

Troops were aware of the problems and knew what to expect. Trained accordingly to minimize the risk from jungle disease.

This of course did NOT mitigate totally all that could go wrong and did go wrong. IT IS JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO PREVENT ALL PROBLEMS FROM CROPPING UP!! IT CANNOT BE HELPED.

Consider what one Vietnam veteran had to say about the jungle:

"Our Jungle's were thick and green where you can only see the day light as it leaked through the top of the Jungle Canopy ceilings. The floor reaped of 'DEATH. Not only did we have to deal with the Enemy, but with the hundreds of different varieties of poisonous Snakes, Spiders, Scorpions, Red Fire Ants, Black Army Ants, the Tree leeches, Water and Paddy Leeches, Parasites, Malaria, Dysentery, Disease, , Heat Stroke . . . Our Enemy was also the Agent Orange, Agent Blue, Agent Pink and Agent White that we know about that they sprayed directly on top of us in the early years in Vietnam in our Area of Operation . The DDT in the little clear plastic bottles we rubbed all over us like baby oil to ward off the Mosquitoes and insects all the time . . . When we went in to the Bush and hit or banged into the Trees or the thick Foliage of the Jungle's, Nests with thousands of Red Fire Ants would fall all over us and bite pieces of flesh from us as they fell from their nests on to our bare skin. (We did what we called 'THE ANT DANCE') We would take these spray cans as we tore off our clothes and spray all over our selves with it to Kill the painful Fire Ants."

Insects, leeches, parasites, disease, defoliants, insecticide.

[believe it or not, that DDT used as an insecticide had a strong odor to it. VC and NVA could detect the presence of U.S. troops from a distance just by the smell!]

Measures employed by U.S. forces in Vietnam did help. As might be expected, not 100 % as some would like. But better than what was had in WW2.

Let the German ex-SS officer serving with the French Foreign Legion in the First Indo-China War have the final word on prophylactic measures in the jungle:

"my men understood the importance of keeping themselves clean, healthy, and fit for action . . . We boiled or purified our drinking water, even in the most adverse circumstances . . . In my battalion everyone consumed his daily ration of vitamin pills . . . We had purchased large quantities of camphor and menthol cream from which excellent mosquito and leech repellent creams could be prepared. . . . Every one of us carried a small mosquito net, good enough to cover one's face and hands while resting . . . after dark. In order to keep fit, sufficient rest was of paramount importance. . . . Men with swollen eyes and legs covered with festering sores, men devoid of sleep and tormented by belly cramps could not be expected to fight and defeat the Viet Minh."

Clean - - healthy - - fit - - drinking water - - vitamin - - creams - - mosquito net - - rest.

Little things can and do make a big difference.

coolbert.

Theory?

This is coolbert:

Just recently I blogged extensively on the subject of military theory, the principles of war, etc.

Perhaps the art of war, military theory is just overdone. Theory of military science is actuall a very simple thing. Even the most casual of observers can tell you that this is so. Perhaps humans have a bad way of complicating things where they just do not need to?

Consider these two quotes on war:

"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving." - - Ulysses S. Grant

And.

"now, me lad, don't bother your mind with all them things. There is just one principle of war. Hit the other guy as hard as you can, as fast as you can, where it hurts him the most, and when he ain't looking!!"

As told to Cadet Bill Slim by a British Army Sergeant Major.

[I have mentioned the above Sergeant Major quote in another blog entry.]




Colour Sergeant Bourne DCM, (2459 B Co. 24th. Regiment) of Rorke's Drift fame. NOT the author of the quote. Exemplifies the TYPE of person that WOULD have made the quote.

Is that all it boils down to? In the proverbial nutshell?

Modern minds want to make it more complicated than it is?

You decide!

coolbert.

Jungle I.

This is coolbert:

As I have blogged about before, Senior U.S. military officers, retired and active [the active ones had to hold their tongues], had serious doubts about American involvement in the Vietnam War from the start.

These doubts centered around three concerns:

* This was not our kind of war. Tanks could not be used. [that was not true, but that WAS the perception.]

* NO ground war in Asia. After Korea, the U.S. military decided the risks of a ground war in Asia were too great. You faced a determined communist enemy who was profligate in the use of overwhelming manpower.

* Jungle warfare. Bad experiences with jungle warfare from World War Two [WW2] had convinced the U.S. military planners that the last place you want to fight is in the jungle.

With regard to the latter, this was true. Absolutely.

The U.S. military in WW2 had fought a number of jungle campaigns in the Pacific theatre. Hard fought and difficult victories at a high price.

It was realized very quickly that the jungle ITSELF posed severe limitations and restrictions on modern warfare.

It did not matter who the combatants were, everyone suffered from the jungle.

Jungle diseases were the main culprit here.

Diseases for which the western trained doctors of the American military were not accustomed to diagnosing and treating. Treatment being possible if medications were available, which they were not often NOT!!

"The battle casualties tell only part of the struggle fought out against nature in the jungle wilds. Men on both sides collapsed, exhausted from the debilitating tropical heat and humidity; soldiers shook violently from malarial chills or from a drenching in tropical downpours. Others simply went mad. The neuropsychiatric rate for American soldiers was the highest in the Southwest Pacific theater (43.94 per 1,000 men). The same monotonous field ration of bully beef and biscuits for the Australians, C-rations for the Americans, left soldiers undernourished and susceptible to the uncountable tropical diseases that flourished in the warm, moist jungle."

Heat - - humidity - - malaria - - drenched - - madness - - undernourished.

Sickness meant the men could not drink proper amounts of water [if clean potable water was available!!] to hydrate the body, and could not eat or hold down what they could eat when they were able to. Nutrition was lacking from inadequate food supply. This all contributed to a far worse condition if proper water in quantities and food were available. NONE of this was!!

"Disease thrived on New Guinea. Malaria was the greatest debilitator, but dengue fever, dysentery, scrub typhus, and a host of other tropical sicknesses awaited unwary soldiers in the jungle. Scattered, tiny coastal settlements dotted the flat malarial north coastline, but inland the lush tropical jungle swallowed men and equipment."

Malaria - - dengue fever - - dysentery - - scrub typhus.

"After heavy rains trees and bushes became so heavily laden with blood-sucking leeches that one officer described the foliage as looking like a "wheat field waving in the wind". Vicious, biting, stinging, rapacious insects - from mosquitoes to mites to ticks - descended on the fleshy bounty the warring armies provided them."

Leeches - - insects.

NOR were conditions in Burma any better.

[American and British forces fought together in Burma. The famous Merrill's Marauders suffered terribly at the hands of jungle diseases.]

"Soldiers suffered from malaria, dengue fever, cholera, scabies, yaws, scrub typhus and dysentery. At one point casualties from tropical illness outnumbered those from combat wounds by a ratio of 14:1, with malaria accounting for 90 per cent of the cases."

Malaria - - dengue fever - - cholera - - scabies - - yaws - - scrub typhus - - dysentery.

"In a letter to his wife, Gen Joseph Stilwell described the situation as: 'Rain, rain, rain. Mud, mud, mud, typhus, malaria, dysentery, exhaustion, rotting feet, body sores.'"

Mud - - typhus _- - malaria - - dysentery - - exhaustion - - rotting feet - - body sores.

"In the sweltering jungle, the temperature climbed steadily every day and the humidity grew to be overpowering. Fungi and bacteria multiplied, breeding rot and disease. Even healthy soldiers found breathing difficult, and sleep became almost impossible."

Temperature - - humidity - - fungi - - bacteria - - rot - - disease - - breathing - - sleep.

Disease.

"The men not only had to contend with Burma's physical obstacles, but its abundant microscopic life as well. The jungles of Burma are host to virtually every tropical disease known in the world. Living and fighting in the mud and water, American, Chinese and Japanese came down with trench foot, jungle rot an ailment called Naga Sores - painful ulcers that sometimes ate through to the bone."

Trench foot - - jungle rot - - Naga Sores.

"By far the most common and deadliest sickness was malaria. It is caused by a single-celled organism called Plasmodium (there are four varieties) and is transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes. The disease causes fever, chills, sweats and swelling of the spleen and liver and kills up to 20 per cent of its victims. The patient is prostrated for days or weeks at a time. Malaria swept through all the units engaged on both sides. At one point the British were evacuating 120 men per day due to malaria, compared to ten due to wounds."

[Twelve times the casualty rate from malaria alone, compared to battle wounds!!!]

"Scrub typhus - a mite-borne variant of louse- borne typhus was prevalent as well. Occurring in epidemic fashion, the disease causes a pneumonia-like illness and fever of about 14 days duration."

"During the 44-45 campaign, the British 14th Army suffered some 5,400 cases of scrub typhus, of which about 10 per cent ended in death. At the same time, US forces suffered 6,685 cases, of which 243 were fatal. But overall Allied loses to this disease were actually lower than had been expected because of the liberal use of DDT. The rate of illness and death among the insecticide-less Japanese is unknown, but must have been higher."

[NOT necessarily LETHAL, but extremely debilitating!!]

"During the siege of Myitkyina, 80 per cent of US forces there had dysentery. Some cases were so acute the men cut their pant-seats open to be able to relieve themselves instantly. Between 75-100 Maruaders were evacuated out daily. Under pressure to keep men in the line, medical officers refused to evacuate any man who had not run a fever of 102 degrees for three consecutive days and had not passed a review board of doctors certifying his illness."

[a slit was cut in the bottom of the pants so that the man did not have pull his pants down when he had to go to the bathroom. [of course there was NO bathroom] The soldier could just squat where ever he was and let fly with a liquid discharge.]

Uggggghh!!!!!

Units being rotated out of the jungle combat found themselves so decimated by losses from jungle disease and associated illness that they could not be considered, even with extensive replacement, to be combat ready. A prolonged period of rest and recuperation was needed. Survivors had to regain their health and build up their strength, if they could. Merrill's Marauders, for instance, at the end of their Burma campaign, had only sixteen men standing and fit for further service of two thousand that entered the battle!!!

The physical aspects of war, never a picnic under any circumstances, was extemely exacerbated by the jungle conditions found in the Pacific theatre of WW2!

coolbert.

Pied Noirs.

This is coolbert:

I have had several blog entries recently that dealt with mass deportations. Mass deportations of persons carried out by military or quasi-military forces.

There is also a history from the 1950's of mass voluntary deportation as a result of warfare.

The French pied-noirs of Algeria in the aftermath of the Algerian War of Independence.

"Pieds-noirs - - Pied-noir (literally "black foot") is a term used to name the European-descended population that had been in Algeria for generations . . . In 1959, the pieds-noirs numbered 1,025,000 (85% of European descent, and 15% of Jewish descent), and accounted for 10.4% of the total population of Algeria. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 of them fled the country"

[900,000 IN JUST A FEW MONTHS!!]

"The French government had not anticipated that such a massive number would leave . . . Scenes of thousands of panicked people camping for weeks on the docks of Algerian harbors waiting for a space on a boat to France were common from April to August 1962."

The pied-noirs voluntarily deported themselves as they found the situation hopeless. This was an enormous number to leave in such a small time and it did create a chaotic and unmanageable situation for the French authorities. In such circumstances, justice and fair treatment goes by the wayside. Expediency becomes paramount. That is what was done here.

EVEN A VOLUNTARY DEPORTATION IS NOT AN EASY THING!!

Scenes are created. Dreadful scenes. NOT the type of thing you want shown on television world-wide. Desperation creates panic and a lot of things are done that ordinarily would not be done. Tragic.

coolbert.

Banelieus.

This is coolbert: J.S. Bolton, commenting on my blog, writes:

"One could also project that enclaves of hostile nature, are being appeased and will be allowed to metastasize into hostile micro sovereignties, inside the boundaries of the very heartlands of civilization.

Suspicion might then arise, such as even to see this as having been the idea for some time. Foreign war is not so great a booster of power for officials as domestic warfare.

Such enclaves could soon have their own postage stamps and armies, the appeasement is that extreme in several countries.

Later, the officials having obtained war powers and dictatorship throughout the relevant countries which, tellingly, have been the most resistant to despotism, the enclaves would acquire all the hostiles in such a country, and be squeezed out in warlike manner, out and beyond Europe"

Key words and phrases here are:

"enclaves of hostile nature - - being appeased - - metastasize - - hostile micro sovereignties - - very heartlands - - a booster of power for officials - - own postage stamps and armies - - appeasement is that extreme"

What are we talking about? We are talking, in the most extreme case here, of the banelieus of France. The enclaves of Muslims that so erupted in violence for weeks on end ALL OVER FRANCE.

The banelieus, suburban high rise housing projects, and the areas immediately around them, have become and are now hotbeds of armed resistance to the government and people of the host nation, France.

These high rise housing projects were to be TEMPORARY HOUSING for guest workers, almost all from Islamic nations of north Africa.

Became NOT temporary but permanent decrepit housing for disaffected and angry people who are born in France but who are not French.

NOT French in that they do not share French culture, history, outlook, etc. They are nominally and legally French, but see THEMSELVES as the other. In their own eyes they are not only downtrodden, but possess a superiority as well. Being Muslim, however incidentally so, they are inheritors, again, in their own minds, of a superior way of life [Islam]. Despising and hating all that is French while living among the French [at least residing in the country itself].

These banelieus have become criminal havens and recruiting grounds for jihadists.

Extremely so.

The French police did a count of how many of these banelieus had become NO-GO areas for the French cops. They stopped counting in 1999 when the total reached 1000.

A NO-GO area is an area where the police cannot patrol in an ordinary manner. Hostility in the banelieus is so great that the French police - - IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY - - cannot enter unless with a large force, and then with weapons already drawn. And in 500 of those NO-GO areas, the cops KNOW they will be met with force.

What has happened here?

Criminal gangs, jihadi recruiters, and just plain angry and disaffected "youth" have managed to arm themselves and organized to the point where they CAN resist and stop incursions by the French police. These armed villains have become the prevailing force in the banelieu. The French government has TOTALLY LOST control over sections of their own land!!!!

The villains become the ones that take it upon themselves to enforce norms of behavior, and will use physical force to enforce those norms. What was once ONLY A STRICTLY HELD PURVIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF THE OTHER!!

Can and DO TOO!!!

[these groups are even more heavily armed than the cops are!! Arms are smuggled in from eastern Europe. Once gun free and shooting free western Europe is a place of the past. At least in the banelieus.]

Micro-sovereign nations of thugs, metastisizing [growing as would cancer], to all parts of France. This was thought to be a problem just relegated only to the environs of Paris [??], but is now all over.

[the U.S. has large enclaves of disaffected folks living in the center of the large metropolitan areas. Suburbia is "white". In France, the situation is reversed!!]

In the Heartland of Civilization too! Europe, all the nations of that continental and cultural entity, has this problem now. And appeasement does not seem to help. Only makes matters worse.

The villains and thugs DO take over the functions of government and rule by their laws. This is an indication that the problem is NOT just cultural and poverty driven, it has a large political dimension.

It is said that underground Sharia Islamic courts exist in different part of Europe. Muslims do not even use the existing legal system of the host nation, but have established and use their own court system, using their own laws, and enforcing their own norms, EVEN USING FORCE TO DO SO!!!

[in the movie "The Battle of Algiers" a scene is shown where a young man and woman are getting married. They are married by a FLN official, one of the rebels, who says, "this [the marriage] is perhaps even more important than the armed struggle". What he is saying is that the Muslims were doing away with the French governmental authority and now governing themselves.

"Muslims all over the country also initiated underground social, judicial, and civil organizations, gradually building their own state."

French authority and sovereignty did not matter any more and did not EXIST!!

[there was a famous incident in France decades ago now that demonstrated how extreme this situation has become. French police in Marseilles were chasing some bank robbers in a car chase. The bank robbers drove into the Muslim quarter, whereupon the French police stopped, as if a brick wall had been instantly been placed in their path. The police refused to go further, saying that if they did, they would be mobbed and murdered within thirty seconds or so. The French authorities had to gingerly approach the Muslim elders and without fanfare attempt to PERSUADE the elders to assist them in apprehending the bank robbers. And that was DECADES AGO!!]

coolbert.

Wonderment!

This is coolbert:

"What wonders man hath wrought" - - Alexander Graham Bell.

What a wonder it is. Photo in the paper the other day shows the latest sea-based X Band radar in harbor at Pearl [Hawaii]. Going to undergo repairs, modifications, etc.

"Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Jan. 10, 2006) - The heavy lift vessel MV Blue Marlin sits moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) aboard after completing a 15,000-mile journey from Corpus Christi, Texas. SBX is a combination of the world's largest phased array X-band radar carried aboard a mobile, ocean-going semi-submersible oil platform. It will provide the nation with highly advanced ballistic missile detection and will be able to discriminate a hostile warhead from decoys and countermeasures. SBX will undergo minor modifications, post-transit maintenance and routine inspections in Pearl Harbor before completing its voyage to its homeport of Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands."

A part of the National Missile Defense [NMD] program.

This thing is a wonderment [a word coined by Cole Younger [??]

Looks like a big golf ball [the radome] on a platform, set on legs, on top of a barge.

This is part of the National Missile Defense program. The Bush administrations version of Star Wars missile defense.

This is a sound concept. You are not confined to having radars located ONLY on your own ground. Have this radar parked at sea where it is in a location to do the most good. Pick up a missile launched at the U.S. from a range hitherto not possible. Get advanced warning of enemy missile launch that gives the command authority more time to make informed decisions. Decisions that could mean life or death for millions.

This sea-going X-ban radar, part of the NMD, is an engineering marvel. Is like an adaption of those immense oil drilling platforms that sprout all over the world now. A good idea. Adapt what already exists and do not reinvent the wheel. Someone was thinking when they came up with the idea. Sound!.

There are now or will be land based versions of this radar.



A much more global reach is possible with a sea based system.

The U.S. has HAD a sea-going radar system used to monitor and gather intelligence on ballistic missile launches. This is Cobra Judy. NOT a part of the NMD system. More a part of what is called National Technical Means. Cobra Judy would normally operate in the Pacific, but conceivably go anywhere in the world if necessary. Such is the flexibility of a sea-going system.





Also impressive is that the entire barge and platform was moved 15,000 miles from Texas to Hawaii on the Blue Marlin. The same vessel that lifted the U.S.S. Cole out of the water and returned it to the U.S. for repairs. Center of the Marlin is submerged and then LIFTS the cargo out of the water for transport. Impressive.



Vessels such as the Marlin are called semi-submersible heavy lift ships!!

Yes they are!!

coolbert.

Ball Lightning!

This is coolbert:

"It is not uncommon for engineers to accept the reality of phenomena that are not yet understood, as it is very common for physicists to disbelieve the reality of phenomena that seem to contradict contemporary beliefs of physics" - H. Bauer"

There does seem to be a reasonable and naturally occurring explanation for the phenomenon of ball lightning.

A phenomenon that has a military connection.

Ball lightning is of course, as I have said, ephemeral. Short lasting and fleeting. NOT easy to observe and make readings on. NOT the sort of thing that modern science CAN or WANTS to study.

"Foo fighters" have been speculated to be ball lightning, as I have just blogged about.

Ball lightning, or a similar phenomenon greatly resembling ball lightning was also observed in diesel powered submarines.

Diesel powered submarines, WHILE RUNNING ON THE SURFACE, of course, use a diesel engine for propulsion. WHILE SUBMERGED, the submarine uses a electric motor powered by a large array [banks] of batteries.

These battery banks are/were switched to be on-line with the electric motor by several large mechanical switches. Switches that were manually operated by crew members when the order was given by the ship's Captain.

Crew members, when operating the switches, did report seeing unusual phenomenon occurring. Phenomenon none of them had ever encountered before.

"An artificial version of ball lightning has been reported on submarines that use huge batteries to operate their engines. Improper connection of the battery causes an electrical discharge that sometimes reportedly spawns glowing, hot balls."

When these mechanical switches were being thrown, all sorts of incredible amperages were being connected and circulated in the electrical system at the same time. This is ordinarily NOT the sort of thing scientists would do in a lab. The combination of such large battery banks is not found elsewhere but on military submarines.

Upon hearing the phenomenon as experienced by submarine crews, civilian experimenters DID attempt to replicate the occurrence. Results were:

"Professor James Tuck, of Los Alamos Laboratories, heard about this and attempted to duplicate with effect using a submarine battery stored on campus. Most of his tests produced nothing resembling ball lightning, but in a final experiment before the lab was disassembled Tuck introduced a low concentration of methane around the area of the discharge. The result was an unexpectedly large explosion and the end of the experiments. Later, film from movie cameras operating during that last test showed something Tuck hadn't seen at the time: a four inch round glowing ball."

Well, this is reasonable. NO results as that occurring on the sub. ONLY after introducing a gas into the environment was he able to get results. And the glowing ball was found only after looking at films. Like I said, ephemeral!!

It MUST have been that in the very closed and confined environment of a submarine, a lot of gases were present that were NOT present in the controlled experiment. ONLY by adding certain gases was the phenomenon replicated. This is understandable. In a sub you have a lot of outgassing from those batteries, or at least I would assume there is. NOT detectable by the human nose [??!!], but still present. This outgassing COMBINED with the sparking from the switches was responsible for the observances that were made!!

coolbert.

Foo.

This is coolbert:

All throughout World War Two [WW2], but seemingly PRIMARILY at the very end of the war, pilots of both the Allied and Axis airforces [American, British, German, Japanese. But - - NO Russian!!!???] began reporting interesting encounters in the air.

But NOT with opposition aircraft.

With what allied airforce pilots termed "foo fighters".

["Foo Fighters were reported by the British as early as September 1941, with regular sightings by all sides continuing, except for a several month lull in 1943, throughout the war."]

Phenomenon that no one had ever encountered before. Objects that had an other-worldly aspect to them.

What became termed in the post WW2 era as UFO's.

The kind of stuff you would see on the "X-Files" TV series.

Objects, flying in formation with high performance military aircraft and executing aerial maneuvers of a sort that conventional aircraft of the time, and for the time thereafter also, just could not do. Objects that mysteriously would appear and then disappear.

"They were known, however, for their high rate of speed and agility, being much faster than any known aircraft at the time as well as being extremely maneuverable, often exhibiting highly unconventional abilities such as instantaneous acceleration and deacceleration, rapid climbing and descent, and hovering in place."

Objects of certain specific shapes and types. Such as:

* Flying fireballs. "two large, orange glowing balls approaching him." "strange glowing balls".

* A small metallic like disc [wedge shaped too]. "a small disc". "spherical, circular, disc-like, or wedged shaped 'bogies',"

There WAS NEVER a satisfactory explanation as to what the "foo fighters" WERE or ARE.

Explanations HAVE offered as to what the phenomenon was. Such as:

* German flying saucers.

"Stories also persist that the German's also had developed small automatized flying discs. One version was called the Feuerball [fireball]. Another, capable of vertical takeoff, was referred to as the Kugelblitz. According to stories, these craft were only armed with devices designed to interfere with the electronics of nearby airplanes.

The Feuerball and Kugelblitz stories seem to parallel tales of "foo-fighters" told by Allied pilots during the war. Despite this it seems unlikely that Feuerballs and Kugelblitzs were ever actually built or flown. The "foo-fighters" observed were probably some purely natural phenomena. No Allied plane ever reported being attacked by a foo-fighter and it is likely that if the Germans had invented a device capable of tracking planes as well as the foo-fighters apparently did, they would have soon armed it with some effective weapon."

Plus, interrogations of German pilots AFTER the war revealed that Axis pilots TOO had encounters with "foo fighters".

* Ball Lightning. Controversial, observable, but inexplicable natural occurring phenomenon. Ball lightning is just something so ephemeral in nature that it cannot be studied. This is the sort of thing that most folks WOULD accept as being the reason behind the "foo fighters". Naturally occurring phenomenon just not known or studied or understood by modern science. "Foo Fighters" are something for which there IS a reasonable natural explanation. Something that CAN be understood, but is just NOT!!

Of course, the appearance of "foo fighters", coming as a result of WW2 and the detonation of the first atomic weapon, opened all sorts of speculation in the minds of UFO enthusiasts that this was the observational spacecraft of alien beings watching mankind on the road to destruction. A type of "foo fighter" was seen in the area of Trinity Site just after the detonation of the first a-bomb.

"the first nuclear explosive device on Earth was set off. Shortly after that test and especially so after the war the general New Mexico area was inundated by "green fireballs." Theoreticians in the Air Force believed the fireballs were propelled objects and not natural phenomena, bearing a very close similarity to Foo Fighters."

What has been the appearance and observation of "foo fighters" since the end of the war? ARE military pilots flying high performance aircraft STILL seeing the objects?? Seemingly NOT! OR are they??

Who knows!!??

coolbert.

Tarleton.

This is coolbert:

One of the few British Army officers [maybe the only one] to emerge from the American Revolutionary War with a degree of glory was Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

A man whose character was adapted for the recent movie "The Patriot". In the movie, Tarleton is called William Tavington.

The real Tarleton was an energetic military man of action. A commanding soldier possessing elan. Elan - - spirited action. Something that senior commanders desire to see in subordinates, but almost never do. A relatively young man too. Accomplished most of his battlefield heroics by the age of twenty four!!

Tarleton seems to have been a natural soldier, purchasing a commission at age nineteen and by the age of twenty four an established commander of the Green Dragoons, a cavalry unit of Loyalist Tory troops [colonialists loyal to George III].

Tarleton was considered by the his Revolutionary war foes to be a hard, brutal, even cruel foe. This may very well be overrated. But he was a successful commander.

Not on all occasions however!

Tarleton was present leading his troops on the battlefield at Cowpens. The famous "American Cannae" blogged about before. Barely escaping with his life, Tarleton was not victorious that day. Luckily got away. MOST OTHER Britishers did not on that occasion.

[William Tavington, as shown in the movie "The Patriot" was a sadistic killer who enjoyed his work. Got a fitting end at the hands of Mel Gibson. Surprisingly so, the man who played the role of Tavington in the movie, Jason Issacs studied law at an early point in his life, as did the real Tarleton!!]



Tarleton was a character shown repeatedly in the 1950's Disney made for TV series "Swamp Fox". A TV series based upon the American Revolutionary War exploits of Francis Marion. A TV series starring Leslie Nielsen in a very early role. Tarleton is shown as an able British commander who is always out-foxed by the "Swamp Fox". NOT sure of the real story there.

"Col. Banastre Tarleton, sent out to capture him, despaired of finding the "old swamp fox," who eluded him by following swamp paths. Tarleton and Marion were sharply contrasted in the popular mind, with Tarleton hated because he had burned and destroyed homes and supplies, whereas Marion's Men, when they requisitioned supplies (or destroyed them to keep them out of British hands) gave receipts for them. After the war many of these receipts were redeemed by the new state government."

Just a few days ago, the famous auction house Sotheby's sold at auction four battle standards that were in the possession of the Tarleton family. The ancestors of the famous Banastre. These sold for the amazing sum of $17.4 million!!

Battle standards of four American Revolutionary War regiments captured by the Green Dragoons under the command of Tarleton.

[a regiment of the time would carry two flags. One would be the national colors, the other a flag [battle standard] that symbolized the regiment itself. A flag unique to that army regiment.]

[this photo of Tarleton is from a painting of same. A painting made after the Revolutionary War. The flags at the feet of Tarleton laying on the ground are those four battle standards.



The direct descendants of Banastre Tarleton could no longer pay to insure the standards, so they were put up for sale and sold almost immediately to an anonymous buyer.

Perhaps an American. It is not clear.

Hopefully, these standards will be returned to America.

These four battle standards are very significant. It seems the final form of the American national colors, the Stars and Stripes, is based in part upon the design of several of the captured battle standards.

Amazing stuff!!

coolbert.

David.

This is coolbert:

Here are a whole bunch of web sites you can access for further information on David Rubitsky, if you so desire.

It seems that David has been for some time a growth industry. His story is like the Energize Bunny, it just keeps going and going.

Almost beginning to assume the proportions of a minor Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theory!!

These are various sites, pro and con.

David did have his own web site, but it seems to be right now "Under Construction".

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21849

This is the original article from the Joseph Farah web site. Was published in 2001. That of course is three years after the last U.S. Army review of the case.

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/permalink/david_rubitsky_hoax

Here is a rebuttal from a reader to the original Joseph Farah Article.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=22217

This is the reply of Joseph Farah's to what he describes as an "inundation" of letters regarding the Rubitsky case.

http://www.rubitsky.com/

This is David's web site. Go there and see for yourself what is what! [there is nothing to see!!]

http://www.rubitsky.com/

This site is NOT complimentary of David.

http://voices.dewaun.us/index.php?p=92

A blog web site that copies the Joseph Farah article from 2001. This blog done in 2004. The Energize Bunny at work.

http://home.att.net/~texmextex/IsraeliMaster/Earley/Rubitsky_2.htm

Another uncomplimentary web site. Contains a letter sent to Les Aspin in 1989. This story has been around for some time now.

http://www.pngembassy.org/history_story1.html

Here is the web site story from the Embassy of Papua New Guinea. David did get this award of the MBE [Most Excellent Member of the British Empire.]

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2006/01/05/news/news05.txt

This story is dated January 2006. David is alive at 89 and going strong. Still searching for that MoH.

http://www.voy.com/5575/1572.html

Here is a letter in a forum from a man named Nordlander. Describes himself as first being a supporter of David, and is now a naysayer.

[I sent Mr. Nordlander a post asking what is the status of David's case. Wonder if I will get a reply??]

http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=17769

Here is an article by a man who is also a naysayer of David. A native of Papua New Guinea. Maclaren Jude Hiari is ALSO A MBE!!! Same as David!!

http://www.thenational.com.pg/0913/letter4.htm

Here is a letter written by David to the people of Papua New Guinea.

http://mailgate.supereva.com/soc/soc.misc/msg00421.html

Here is a scathing and sarcastic letter by Mr. Nordlander.

http://www2.jsonline.com/news/metro/may01/medal22052101a.asp

This web site repeats the story of David and how he got the MBE medal.

http://www.actor-resource.com/directory/mr-t/mr-t-killed.html

Scroll down on this web site and you will see a link to another site which too is not accessible for some reason.

What is described here is how the most compelling evidence supporting the claim of David was found.

It seems another veteran of the 32nd Division's campaign in Buna collected photos off the bodies of dead Japs. Found one letter that had writing on the back. This was translated for the man at a Beni-Hana restaurant. The letter purportedly written by the Japanese Colonel who COMMITTED SUICIDE OVER THE DAVID INCIDENT!!!!

The letter that was later determined by American AND Japanese sources to be a forgery???!!!

[this also raises the question of fraud and perjury in my mind. Let us suppose that David and his supporters are innocent folks just trying to right a wrong. However statements, affadavits, sworn testimony, and I don't know how much of that exists, constitutes legal documentation. The U.S. government must HAVE spent a whole lot of time, energy, MONEY investigating this case. If this is all a whopper of a tale, then anyone participating is guilty of fraud and perjury. Subject to criminal or civil prosecution!! I sure hope NOT!!]

Consider also the comments of an informant of mine. A man who during the Vietnam War was qualified as a Small Unit Commander [infantry]:

"I believe he did it and I believe he was denied the MOH was because he is a Jew. There are other stories of such exploits by others due to the fanatical nature of the Japanese soldiers. They were trained from early childhood to die for the Emperor. So this could have easily happened. In 'Citizen Soldiers', Stephen Ambrose describes how a single fire team of American troops in the Ardennes backed by a single machine gun killed hundreds of German soldiers as they assaulted during the Battle of the Bulge, marching in formation and dying the droves as they attacked in the Battle of the Bulge. So, the story is completely believable to me."

Okay, enough for David already! Again, you all be the judge!

coolbert.

Disorder?

This is coolbert:

Homosexuals in the Military.

It is with much trepidation and thought that I make this blog entry. Controversial subject matter again!!! Well, we don't want a bland blog, do we!!??

Television newscaster yesterday reports on the morning news that, "the U.S. military has decided to consider homosexuality to be a mental disorder." Furthermore, the same newscaster then goes on to say that, "the American Psychiatric Association has not considered homosexuality to be a mental disorder for some years now."

Well, this is true. American psychiatrists, under pressure from homosexuals, have not considered homosexuality to be a mental disorder since the early 1970's. That is over three decades now.

But the military persists in the notion of "mental disorder".

What is going on here?

Ever since the beginning of the Clinton administration, the military has had the policy toward homosexuals of "don't ask, don't tell!!".

Is still in effect. Has not changed. For over a decade now.

I can recall vividly seeing the C-Span Congressional hearings into the whole subject of homosexuals in the military.

Such military luminaries as General Powell [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs], and General Shalikashvili [Army Chief of Staff] are testifying.

And these two men and others, really heavy thinkers, are giving all the reasons WHY homosexuals SHOULD NOT BE allowed to be in the military.

Such reasons as:

* Moral will decline within the ranks of the straight troops.

* You will have to have separate barracks.

* You will have to have separate latrine facilities.

* You will have the danger in battle of blood splatter from a homosexual falling on a straight troop. [the obvious thing here is the risk of infection from AIDS!!]

NONE OF THESE ARE THE REAL REASONS WHY YOU DO NOT WANT HOMOSEXUALS TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY. ALL THOSE HIGH RANKING OFFICERS AND BRILLIANT MINDS NOT ONCE MENTIONED THE REAL REASON WHY!!!!

[I like to think of myself as being someone who knows the REAL reason why something is happening. Or the real reason as to what is going on!!]

Well, what is the REAL REASON WHY??

DANGER. Danger from the extreme suicidal tendencies of homosexual youth. [Youth here is defined from the teenage years up to the age of twenty four.]

IT IS WITHOUT QUESTION THAT HOMOSEXUAL YOUTHS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER INCIDENCE OF SUICIDE THAT STRAIGHT YOUTH!!

How much greater is a debatable question!! This I would agree with. Some authorities say that the rate of suicides among gays is thirty times greater than among straights!!

"Data concerning young homosexuals is somewhat unreliable. It appears that about one in three teen aged suicides is by a gay or lesbian. Since homosexuals represent only about 5% of the population, gays and lesbians are greatly over-represented."

[this figure of 5 % is probably too high. More like 1 % with 2 % at the most!!]

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated 3 that "as many as 30% of completed youth suicides each year" are performed by gays and lesbians. Unfortunately, many information sources have quoted the 30% as if it is an absolute figure. The Department indicates that it is 30% or fewer."

"Now, a psychologist has published the results of two studies that-once again-expose the Homosexual Urban Legend that teens who have homosexual feelings are committing suicides in record numbers."

[these figures are called and Urban Legend by some!!]

"Recent studies in the USA and Canada suggest that homosexuality issues are involved in up to one third of young men under 24 who suicide. A recent Australian study replicates these findings."

[The figures have been replicated. 1/3 of suicides are gay youth!]

"Suicide is the leading cause of death among gay male, lesbian bisexual and transsexual youth. Gay males were six times more likely to make an attempt than heterosexual males. Lesbians were more than twice as likely to try committing suicide than the heterosexual women in the study. A majority of the suicide attempts by homosexuals took place at age 20 or younger, with nearly one-third occurring before age 17."

"Several recent studies have shown that gay, lesbian and bisexual people, particularly adolescents and young adults, are at substantially increased risk of suicidal behaviours and suicidal thinking. For gay, lesbian and bisexual young people (up to age 27), studies in the United States have found risk of suicide attempt ranging from 3 1/2 to nearly 14 times that experienced by heterosexual young people."

[that figure of up to 14 times is still pretty significant!!]

"A recent Australian study found that gay-identified young men (aged 18 - 24) were 3.7 times more likely to attempt suicide. Most of these attempts occurred after the person had self-identified as gay, but before having a same-sex experience and before publicly identifying themselves as gay."

"Overall, studies of completed suicides have not found gay youth over-represented, however, studies focused on suicidal ideation and suicide attempts show significantly higher rates among gay and lesbian youth compared to heterosexual youth."

Again, the figures are debatable. But agreed that the rate is MUCH greater. Whether that rate is thirty times, twenty times, ten times, the rate is greater. Without question!!

What do you want to do? Arm a person with suicidal tendencies with an assault rifle [M-16], 120 rounds of ammo and four hand grenades? [the fighting load of the common soldier] NO, of course not!

Do you want to put a person with suicidal tendencies at the diving controls of a submarine? NO, of course not!

Do you want to put a person with suicidal tendencies IN A NUCLEAR EQUIPPED UNIT! NO, of course not!

You could probably go on and on with such examples.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE FOLKS WITH A MENTAL DISORDER TO HAVE ACCESS TO WEAPONS AND WEAPONS SYSTEMS DESIGNED TO KILL PEOPLE AND BREAK THINGS!!

It is not worth the risk. Suicidal tendencies do constitute a mental disorder. A mental disorder not worth the risk in the military.

Now you know the real reason WHY!!

[when you take a military physical, you have to complete a long list of questions as part of the medical exam form. One of those questions is whether you are or not a homosexual. This may very well constitute a legal document. Failure to answer correctly is a crime under UCMJ. You could be prosecuted for answering with a lie!! Can anyone consider it to be good that a persons starting out their career in the military begins by telling a lie from the get-go!!!]

coolbert.

MoH II.

This is coolbert:

From the autobiography of the great American military man Anthony B. Herbert:

[Anthony B. Herbert was the most decorated American Soldier of the Korean conflict earning four Silver Stars out of Korea , three Bronze Stars with a V, six battle stars, four Purple Hearts and the highest military award Turkey has (because he was fighting alongside Turks at the time). He was wounded 14 times, 10 by bullets, 3 by bayonet, and once by white phosphorus.]

"'Got to get that gun.' The words echoed through my brain. Two, maybe three lousy guys, weighting less than a hundred fifty pounds each, holding up the entire U.S. Army. Bullshit. Life was okay, but not that okay. I scrambled to my feet and raced forward. Another guy came up with me, step for step, and we headed south down the road together, covering the first thirty yards side by side. Then there was a sickening thud of high-speed metal whacking into flesh, as my companion went down beside me just at the moment I spotted the gun position. I was twenty yards out and slightly off to the right, and I managed to get to within five yard of the gun before they spotted me. And into the hole with them, before they could squeeze off a round. They were kids. My bayonet ripped through the chest of the gunner, driving him up against the back wall of the position. Pull it loose, I beat the second man to death with the rifle butt. Bayoneted the third. The took a bayonet in the side myself, from the fourth, as I drove the butt down in the skull, which jerked the rifle from his hands and snapped its bayonet off inside my chest. 'Bastard,' I hissed, and pounded his skull one more time for good measure.

My buddies were streaming past me. I leaped out of the hole and joined the rush. A second later, two Chinese flyweights pounced on my back. I reached back to grab some hair, and picked up a fistful of teeth. I stumbled and fell, and the three of us went down helter skelter. I bounced back up alone and was off again. Flares burst above us, lighting the sky with flame. Grenades were exploding all around, and men were screaming on both sides. Then we were in the midst of the Chinese, and running parallel to the river. The Major tripped in front of me and went down. I reached down to pull him back up. 'Go on, get out . Save yourself' he shouted at me, thrusting his pistol up into my hand. 'Here, take it.'

He was a small man. I yanked him to his feet and threw him across my shoulder. We crossed the river. And were out of it. Some men lifted the major from my shoulders . . . . the Major asked me to write my name down. he was going to put me in for the Medal of Honor [MOH]."

Whoa boy!!!

This is the type of thing we are talking about when awarding the Medal of Honor. Heroism of a nature almost not ever found. At the risk of life, beyond the call of duty, as they say.

Wiped out the Chinese machinegun position, got a BROKEN OFF STUB of a bayonet sticking in his chest, reaches down, picks up an officer and carries him to safety.

Herbert DID NOT get the MOH. He DID deserve it.

Upon retiring from military service, Herbert became a psychologist.

Has very pertinent thoughts on military leadership and decision making.

Read what Colonel Herbert had to say about leadership and decision making.

Herbert on Decision making:

"However, recently, psychologists, have overcome that short-coming in a grand style that should go down as one of the greatest achievements in modern psychology, if not in all of history." [decision making process.]

"There is only a single decision-making process."

"In every decision, the decision maker is faced with answering only five basic questions."

"The first question the decision-maker asks himself, whether leading a frontal assault against a dug-in enemy a mite tougher than anticipated, or sitting in that night club that has just caught fire, is "are the risks too great to keep on the way I'm headed?"

"If the answer is "no", then no sweat."

"But if the answer to your question is "yes", or "baby, there's gotta be a better way", then it's time to progress to question two. "Are there risks in the most readily available alternative, i.e., retreat, or in the case of the fire, making a break for it." If the answer is "no", i.e., that there are no risks, then do it. There's no problem."

"But if the answer to question Two is "yes", then it's time to move on to question Three - "What other alternatives are possibly available?"

"It works best for me at this time, if I ask myself question Four along with Three, i.e., "Do I have enough time, or how much time do I have to explore other possible alternatives?"

"So if there are other alternatives, and there is time to plan, study those alternatives and select one"

"It leads to the fifth question - "Is it over?" If your answer is "yes", then you're finished. But the answer must always, for the leader, be "no", Decision-making is a continuous process. The successful leader faces decision after decision. The risks change with every step of ground covered. It's continuous. Yet, it's easy"

Heavy stuff indeed. When Herbert talks, you should listen!!

Here is the psychologists web site listing the five step decision making process in slightly different form.

From that web site, here are the five steps:

STEP ONE: Decide if there is a problem. If so, describe and understand the problem, see some solutions, and accept the challenge to tackle the problem.

STEP TWO: If you know what the problem is, now decide what you want in the future. What do you value? Set major goals in terms of specific behaviors.

STEP THREE: After deciding to deal with the problem and deciding on goals, it is crucial to think of as many solutions or courses of action as you can. A final decision can not be better than the possibilities considered.

STEP FOUR: Every decision-maker needs to know the psychological forces that block intelligent decisions in order to guard against the pitfalls.

STEP FIVE: Consider carefully each of the alternatives. What are the pros and cons of each choice? How does each choice fit with your priorities? How do you feel about each choice?

coolbert.

Medal of Honor I.

This is coolbert:

"The river ran red with blood!!!"

WARNING: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL. I AM NOT SAYING IT DID HAPPEN, I AM NOT SAYING IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I LEAVE IT TO THE READER TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT THE TRUTH IS.

[please note the repeated use of punctuation such as !!!??? in this blog entry.]

Read at Joseph Farah's web site WorldNetDaily the most incredible story of war time heroism. A story that is the greatest single feat of arms in the history of warfare.

The story of David Rubitsky.

David Rubitsky. A U.S. Army sergeant in World War Two, who singlehandedly, in one battle without assistance of any type, killed 600 Japanese soldiers!!!

David Rubitsky, a man who was deserving of the Medal of Honor [MOH], but who was denied the award because, "We don't give Jews the Congressional Medal of Honor." [this from a senior commander of his unit, the 32nd Division, Wisconsin Army National Guard [WIARNG] [Red Arrow]].

[The 32nd Division [Red Arrow], did see extensive combat in the Pacific theatre during WW2. Spent more time on the front lines and in combat than ANY OTHER ARMY UNIT IN WW2!!!]

David Rubitsky, a man who served his country in the most heroic manner, and was denied the highest award for valor because of his JEWISH FAITH!!! [so much like Artie Klein, is it not!!!???]

"He opened fire. As Japanese soldiers advanced toward his bunker, Rubitsky used every weapon in his arsenal for nine grueling hours of intense fighting. He alternated between firing his .30-caliber water-cooled machine gun with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, a Browning automatic rifle with close to 600 rounds, his M-1 rifle, a pistol and tossing some of his 35 hand grenades."

"Rubitsky spent a total of 21 hours in the bunker -- including nine under heavy siege. The Japanese army attacked from three different directions -- the north, south and west. His bunker had slits on all sides, making it possible for him to respond to an attack from any direction. He switched from gun to gun and threw grenades at the enemy, while the Japanese alternately charged his position and shelled it with light artillery."

Again, a feat of arms without parallel in the history of warfare period!!!

And denied the MOH because of his faith!!

This story first surfaced in the national media around 1987 or so. Appeared in major newspapers all across the country. I can even remember seeing the account of Rubitsky's heroics myself and being impressed and amazed at what I had read.

David was even interviewed on National Public Radio [NPR] and recounted the event with startling detail.

David's story has been repeated on numerous web sites [including Joseph Farah's ]] and weblogs throughout the years. David has become somewhat of a cause celebre.

"cause cé·lè·bre - - n. pl. causes cé·lè·bres

An issue arousing widespread controversy or heated public debate.
A celebrated legal case."

Many in high places in our government have lobbied on the behalf of David to see this historic injustice righted. Lobbying with the intent to see David awarded the MOH. An award which he so deservedly merits!!

TROUBLE WITH ALL THIS!!

THREE TIMES THE U.S. ARMY HAS INVESTIGATED THE EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS OF DAVID AND FOUND THEM TO BE TOTALLY LACKING. WITHOUT MERIT OF ANY KIND. THE BATTLE AND KILLING OF 600 JAPANESE ON THE BATTLEFIELD SEEMS TO HAVE NOT OCCURRED!!

"After two years of intensive research and investigation, the
United States Army in Tab H of its official conclusion released
on December 15, 1989 stated unequivocally that the engagement
of December 1-2, 1942 in which Rubitsky claimed to be involved
'DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED.'"

"Abe Foxman [head of Anti-Defamation League] even congratulated
Lt. Col. Terrance Adkins, head of the ArmyAwards Branch at that
time, for the thoroughness with which it pursued its investigation
of Rubitsky's claims of valor and charges of anti-Semitism against
the Army."

"Moreover, all of Rubitsky's 92 congressional supporters -in-
cluding Wisconsin's Senator Herbert Kohl-all accepted the Army
conclusion that the engagement 'DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED.'"

"It should not be forgotten that the Army was prevailed upon
again in 1992 and 1998 to investigate Rubitsky's Walter Mitty
fantasy. The conclusion was the same as the 1989 result:
The engagement 'DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED.'"

Consider David's own most compelling evidence:

"The most compelling evidence supporting Mr. Rubitsky was a handwritten message on the back of a photograph removed just after the battle from the body of a Japanese officer. The officer, Colonel Yamamoto, had committed suicide to atone for the loss of 600 fine Japanese soldiers killed by a lone American soldier. In an interview with National Public Radio Mr. Rubitsky graphically recounted the fighting which went on all night. Mr. Rubitsky admitted to being insane from shooting and bayoneting them."

What does the Army say about this??

"As regards the photograph, both Japanese and American experts declared it a forgery."

And as for the persons that originally recommended David for the MOH??

"The commanding officer who allegedly said "Jews don't get the Medal of Honor" had been relieved of his command the day after the mythical battle and had nothing to do with either forwarding or forgetting the original affidavits. The key witness for the claim of Mr. Rubitsky, the officer reputed to have seen the bodies of the slain Japanese, was placed back at battalion headquarters writing reports."

Well, someone is telling a real whopper here. This is NOT a matter of nuance/shades of grey/he said/they said/etc. This either occurred or it did NOT occur. Perhaps the U.S. Army still has a vendetta against David!!?? What is what here??!!

The Museum of Hoaxes web site has even sent a letter to Joseph Farah demanding a retraction of the 2001 article.

I have some problems with David's account right off the bat:

* Ammunition expenditure. 3000 rounds fired in a nineteen hour period. That many rounds would weigh about 210 pounds to begin with [I am assuming that 100 rounds of thirty caliber ammo weights 7 pounds]. If five men carried that load to the area where the battle took place, that would be an additional 40 pounds per man carried in addition to their normal battle kit.

* Linesmen [this is described as an officer and the linesman, David!!] performing their mission would NOT have normally carried such a load . A linesman would carry his standard battle kit, a Garand rifle, and a normal load of ammo, but not an additional forty pounds of ammunition.

* Ammunition was prepositioned by someone else??!! It is not clear what is what!!?? This fighting position is described as an outpost. A listening post [LP] or an observation post [OP]? You would not have found a machinegun, BAR, and an enormous quantity of ammo in such a position. The normal SOP would have been FOR THE TROOPS TO REPORT WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THEN SPLIT, ABANDONING THE POSITION, WHICH IS WHAT THEY DID, MINUS DAVID!]

* For the officer and the other three enlisted men to have left David by himself is strange too. It may be that the SOP for those troops already in the outpost was to report and leave when threatened. If the officer told David to leave and he did not, that would have constituted disobedience to orders. Normally all the enlisted would have deferred to the officer on the scene as to what course of action to follow!!

* Casualties. 600 Japanese dead on the battlefield! By normal statistics, that would have meant that an additional 2100 would have been wounded!!?? I am assuming the normal ratio of wounded to dead as being 350/100!!. That is 2700 casualties for 3000 rounds fired!!?? David would have had to hit a Jap with almost every round fired. Impossible!!!

Perhaps the statistics do not hold water when you are battling Japanese!!!??? My assumption about the wounded to dead ratio of 350/100 is not correct in the case of Japs!!!???

Perhaps also those thirty five hand grenades thrown all were on target too, and killed a lot of Japs besides!!?? Jap casualties were NOT only from weapons fire!!??

Well, if the dead numbered 600, and my assumption of 2100 wounded is generally correct, that is 2700 troops. And that does not even count those NOT KIA/WIA!! What would have then been the size of the attacking Jap force!!?? At least regimental strength, or even brigade strength!!??

* Saipan. During the Great Banzai Charge of Saipan [1944], 5000 Japanese attackers were ABLE to overrun two BATTALIONS of Army infantry, that infantry with artillery support. That is a defending force [American] of in excess of a thousand men. That a thousand men were not able to stop a Japanese force of only somewhat greater number than what David would have had to face SINGLEHANDEDLY is an indication that something is not right here!!??

Well, you see where all this goes, don't you!!!

The U.S. Army is NOT the only party investigating the claims of David. It seems the government of Papua New Guinea has also done a month long check of the facts and concluded, based I guess upon the eyewitness [??] accounts of the local natives, that the battle described by David DID OCCUR!! David HAS BEEN awarded a Member of the British Empire [MBE] for his exploits!!??

"The river ran red with blood!!!"

But there is MORE!! It also seems that David ALSO claims that he should have been awarded a SECOND MOH for his exploits during a second battle, this one fought two years after the first, this second engagement taking place in the Philippines [1944]. According to David, on this second occasion, he again, singlehandedly [??] killed 200 Japanese while wiping out seven machinegun nests!!!

[David was a telephone linesman, NOT an infantryman!!??]

Another feat of daring in addition to the first episode of heroics that boggles the mind!!!

600 here, 200 here!! You get it, right!!??

Surely someone must have seen the second battle!!?? Yes!!?? I would have thought so!!?? Again, maybe this also was not witnessed??!!

Whatever, David qualifies as one helluva killing machine!!

Or does he???!!

Again, you the reader decide!!

coolbert.

National Geographic III.

This is coolbert:

Again, from the June 2006 issue of the National Geographic Magazine.

The Geographic is running a special program on the National Geographic TV channel called "The Space Race". Advertised as "This two-part, four-hour special shows the rival teams competing to recruit escaped Nazi rocket scientists."

The question I pose is:

Was it moral and justifiable for the United States to profit from ill-gotten gain in the aftermath of World War Two [WW2]?

What "ill-gotten gain" am I speaking about here?

First was Operation Paperclip. The "smuggling" [actually bringing into the U.S. under the radar screen of the immigration authorities] those German rocket scientists that had developed such weapons as the V-1, V-2.




[Sure are a lot of them, isn't there??!!]

Second was the "recruitment", sponsoring, and financing of the Gehlen Organization. An organization of German nationals, to include Nazi SS men and ex-Wehrmacht soldiers, that conducted espionage against the Soviet Union for the U.S. in the aftermath of World War Two [WW2].



Third was the negotiations with the ex-commander of the infamous Japanese bacteriological warfare research Unit 731.



[some poor guy is being dissected!!]

In each case, it was determined that it was better to hold one's nose, excuse or ignore the smell, and profit in an expedient manner for the good of the U.S. during the Cold War.

Several factors were at work here.

* First was the correct perception among the governing elite in the U.S. that American was in a real fight for world domination with the Soviet Union. A fight that could not go in a way unfavorable to the U.S. Measures taken, even if not totally "kosher", were seen as being needed, even if not totally clean. Necessity was the watchword.

* Secondly, it was quickly realized that the U.S. was woefully lacking in rocket science, intelligence, and biological warfare. Some sort of way had to be found to make up for America lagging in all three of these important fields. Lagging behind could not be tolerated. Means had to be found to prevent the lag, "catch up", and even move ahead of the Soviets where needed.

* Thirdly, with the explosion of the atomic bomb, it was also understood that with just one "wonder weapon", it was possible for a nation to overcome and obliterate adversaries. Wonder weapons that were seen as being even more destructive in the future. Make you opposition succumb and bow. As the U.S. had done with Japan. The world had become a very dangerous place. The two vast oceans that had always protected America were seen as no longer being a barrier.

And there were significant problems with the "ill-gotten gain".

* German rocket scientists were guilty of crimes against humanity. DID use forced laborers to build missiles such as the V-2. And build underground factories for same. Thousands or tens of thousands of forced laborers died building missiles and secure underground complexes as part of the V-2 program.

* The Gehlen organization did employ SS men and ex-Gestapo types. Against the express wishes of the U.S. government. SS men just adopted new identities and went to work for Gehlen.

* While doing bacteriological warfare experimentation, Japanese Unit 731 DID a lot of inhuman experimentation on Chinese civilians, and POW's, to include Russians and Americans!! Crimes against humanity. This did not dissuade Mac Arthur from negotiating with the Japanese commander of Unit 731 and getting full access to all documents regarding biological warfare developments as done by Japan in WW2!!

"At the end of the war however, he [MacArthur] secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731 in exchange for providing America with their research on biological weapons. The United States believed that the research data was valuable because the allies had never publicly conducted this type of human experimentation, due to potential political fallout. Also, the U.S. did not want any other nation, particularly the Soviet Union, to acquire data on biological weapons."

A lot of bad stink had to be endured and was endured. Expediency was felt to be essential. The good and the survival of America depended upon it. At the time, people making decisions did what they felt was best. Did they have concerns? Yes! Would they have done the same in the same situation today. Probably!!

coolbert.