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domingo, 21 de mayo de 2017

Por :´Pablo Ramos

Cuando en el año 1996 surgen de Las entrañas de las calles de Monterrey vestigios arqueológicos de la olvidada Batalla de Monterrey de 1846, pocos en Monterrey conocian esta enigmatica batalla ocurrida en Monterrey hace 171 años, nuevamente al ampliar el Paseo Santa Lucia se recuperan mas vestigios en el año 2006,2008 y 2011, al principio en EU no se interesaron por estos restos hasta que fue cubierta por medios de prensa de EU, asi acuden en el año 2014 oficiales de EU quienes analizan los restos, llevandose muestras,y es en el año 2016 que finalmente se repatrian mas de 13 restos de soldados de EU,aunque ya se habian analizado por arqueólogos mexicanos y antropologos fisicos estaba pendiente el analisis de DNA por lo que se llevaron a EU para su estudio,ahora en Tennesee se estan estudiando, cabe mencionar que fue el interes de los historiadores mexicanos y arqueologos mexicanos quieines trataron desde el año 2006 de interesar a historiadores de EU interesandose el autor del libro A PERFECT GIBRALTAR THE BATTLE MONTERREY MEXICO 1846 Cristopher Dishman quien en el año 2007 acudio a Monterrey a estudiar esta olvidada Batalla publicandose un libro en octubre del 2010, es enel año 2011 quien otro estadounidense Jim Page de Tennesee quien trata de todos los medios de que se interesen politicos de EU,en Monterrey desde 1995, Ahmed Valtier, despues, Miguel Angel Gonzalez Quiroga, Cesar Morado, Jesus Avila, Leticia Martinez Cardenas, Raul Martinez Eduardo Cazares, Pablo Ramos ,Araceli Rivera, Juan Antonio Cerda,Bertha Villarreal,Pedro Cantu, buscan que se reconozca esta gesta heroica,este año 2017 en EU ya se estan obteniendo resultados.

ver noticias:

Johnson seeks to return Mexican War veterans bodies home

By  |

Mexican War_large2
Anyone who knows Tim Johnson knows he is passionate about history.
Particularly intrigued by the Mexican War, Johnson, professor of history at Lipscomb for more than 25 years, has devoted decades to researching and writing about the leaders, soldiers and battles of that war, which took place between 1846-1848.
This past fall, Johnson got to help write a new chapter in the annals of Mexican War history when a dozen sets of remains, some of which are believed to be the remains of Tennesseans who fought in the Mexican War’s Battle of Monterey, were returned to the United States. On Sept. 28, six years of work by Johnson, and numerous other locals, paid off when the remains were transferred to the Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for further forensic study.
Since then, Johnson has continued to doggedly work to confirm if any of the skeletal remains belong to Tennessee volunteers and to complete a book on Tennessee’s role in the Mexican War.
Mexican War_1Johnson was one of the small delegation invited to be part of a September “dignified transfer” ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers and transfer them to the Center for Mortuary Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest joint-service mortuary facility located at the Dover AFB.  The delegation from middle Tennessee also included Congresswoman Diane Black and several forensic anthropologists.
“It was a remarkable honor to be among the delegation of Tennesseans who welcomed these soldiers home after 170 years,” said Johnson, one of Lipscomb’s designated research professors who has penned three books on the Mexican War. “It was a great day and a great event. The remains were given full military honors, and the transfer ceremony was both solemn and meaningful. I was impressed that after 170 years these American servicemen were accorded the same kind of respect as someone who gave their life in military service today. The chaplain who prayed during the observance expressed the hope that the ceremony underway would honor those men who gave their lives at the Battle of Monterey.”
Now Johnson wants to help determine if any of these soldiers were from Tennessee and if so to find any of their ancestors who might still be in the state. He said there is a high likelihood that some of these remains are Tennesseans because of the large number who fought there and because of the location of the burial sites.
In 1846 the United States and Mexico went to war over a border dispute along the Rio Grande precipitated by the annexation of Texas. The federal government immediately called for volunteers from the states to augment the small U.S. Army.
“When the War Department requested 3,000 volunteers (the equivalent of three regiments) from Tennessee, nearly 30,000 Tennesseans turned out forcing state officials to resort to a lottery to determine who would be permitted to serve,” said Johnson. “This solidified Tennessee’s reputation as the Volunteer State, a nickname it had initially won during the War of 1812.  Ultimately over the next two years, nearly 6,000 Tennesseans volunteered to fight in the Mexican War.”
Mexican War_2One of the earliest battles in the war was fought at Monterey, Mexico, in September 1846. Johnson said some of the toughest fighting during the battle was for control of an old tannery that had been fortified by Mexican troops trying to hold off U.S. troops. Regular U.S. troops, together with volunteers from Tennessee and Mississippi, captured the tannery after a daring charge by the First Tennessee and First Mississippi Volunteer Regiments.
Twenty-seven Tennesseans were killed in the attack and another 75 were wounded according to Johnson’s research. The First Regiment Tennessee Volunteers, commanded by Col. William B. Campbell, became known as “The Bloody First.”
“About a half dozen of the Tennesseans were brought back to the state by their families for burial but the rest were buried near the battle site. And there they lay until a building project uncovered some of their remains in 2009. More have been found since,” said Johnson.
Coins and buttons that were discovered at the site quickly showed that the remains included Americans. The identities of the deceased soldiers are unknown, but historians believe that some of them could be Tennesseans.  However, Johnson said that repatriation of the remains ran into numerous roadblocks over the years from both the Mexican and U.S. governments.
In 2010, Capt. Jim Page, the division historian for the 101st Airborne Div. at Fort Campbell, a U.S. Army installation at the Kentucky-Tennessee border named for The Bloody First’s commander Col. Campbell, began a crusade to bring the remains of the Tennesseans who were killed in the Battle of Monterey home. John O’Brien, director of the Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell, and Johnson soon joined the effort.
The discovery of the remains convinced Johnson, to begin work on a book on Tennessee’s role in the conflict. Along the way, Johnson contacted state representatives and members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation, as well as one of his former students who worked in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in an effort to resolve the issue.
A few years later he learned that an anthropology professor at Middle Tennessee State University was also interested in the skeletal remains and wanted to bring them to Tennessee for forensic research.
Mexican War_3With different groups involved in this repatriation project, Johnson thought that more progress might be made if they all joined forces. In 2015 he organized a meeting in Tennessee State Rep. Steve McDaniel’s office. The meeting included McDaniel; staff from the office of House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick; one historian and two anthropologists from MTSU; the director of the Fort Campbell history office; Fred Prouty of the Tennessee Wars Commission; and a representative from Governor Bill Haslam’s office.
“That meeting bore fruit,” Johnson recalled. “Soon thereafter Prouty’s office granted to the forensic lab $40,000 to do scientific research when and if the remains were returned.”
The remains have undergone a battery of procedures and tests at Dover with the ultimate goal of positively identifying them. Johnson and MTSU history professor Derek Frisby continued to work with the military over the last few months to track down descendants of those killed in the battle so that DNA analysis and comparisons can be made. At this stage DNA is the only way to establish the identity of these Mexican War soldiers, Johnson said.
After the story broke regarding the repatriated remains this past September, two Nashville area residents immediately came forward to say that they had ancestors who volunteered and then died in Mexico.
“They were interested to know if their ancestors were among the repatriated remains, and that research is ongoing,” said Johnson. “Ironically, both individuals have Lipscomb connections.”
Tim Northcutt, a Lipscomb Academy graduate and Hendersonville resident, had at least three ancestors who went to Mexico and one who died there, but Johnson was quickly able to determine that he was not one of the Monterey dead.
Jim Thomas, a 1950 Lipscomb graduate and retired minister in Chapel Hill, is the descendant of Joseph B. Burkitt who was one of the Tennessee soldiers killed and buried at Monterey. Johnson said it is possible that Joseph Burkitt’s remains are among those returned to Dover in September. Testing continues to try to determine a match. Another descendant from one of the Tennesseans buried at Monterey recently came forward and research on that family line is ongoing.
Today, Johnson is in the final stages of his work on a book manuscript inspired by the experience which is tentatively titled: For Duty and Honor: Tennessee’s Mexican War Experience.  Johnson has committed to send the manuscript to the University of Tennessee Press when it is completed in 2017 for publication. He is currently working on the latter chapters and is also looking for old portraits, drawings and pictures that might be in private hands of Tennesseans whose ancestors fought in Mexico.
In the meantime, Johnson continues his hope that before he finishes the book, the lab work in Dover can confirm that at least one of the sets of remains belongs to a Tennessean and that he can help bring him home to the Volunteer State.

MTGS Meetings and Workshops

  • Saturday, July 15, 2017, 1:00pm, The Brentwood Library, 8109 Concord Rd., Brentwood, TN 37027
    MTGS Regular Meeting
    "Middle Tennesseans in the Mexican War and Repatriating those Killed in Action at the 1846 Battle of Monterrey, Mexico"
    Presented by Dr. Derek Frisby, PhD.

    Dr. Derek Frisby will talk about his project to ultimately repatriate the remains of US Soldiers killed and buried in Monterrey, using genealogy and DNA analysis. Many of these soldiers were from Middle Tennessee.

    Derek W. Frisby is a Faculty Coordinator in the Office of International Affairs and an Associate Professor in the Global Studies and Geography program at Middle Tennessee State University teaching Tennessee, US, and military history. He is Middle Tennessee native, MTSU alum, and US Marine Corps veteran whose research interests deal with military occupation and reconstruction strategies. Frisby received his doctoral degree from the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa and has authored numerous articles and essays dealing with Tennessee’s Civil War occupation and Reconstruction experiences. He is completing his first book dealing with southerners who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War and their role in the region’s occupation and restoration.

    The meeting is open to the public at no charge, and refreshments will be served.

Tennessee Wars Commission DNA Project
By Tim Hyder
While much of the work done by the Tennessee Wars Commission (TWC) is focused on the preservation and protection of battlefield lands within the state of Tennessee, we also strive to complete our mission statement by funding other types of projects which produce a deeper public understanding of places of conflict and the people who participated in them. Nowhere is this more evident than in the current project underway to identify human remains found in the Mexican city of Monterrey which may be the bodies of members of the 1st Tennessee Volunteers who were killed during the Battle of Monterrey, September 21-24, 1846. Through the use of forensic archaeology combined with cutting-edge technological analysis being conducted by a team from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System at Dover Air Force Base, it may be possible to determine the identities of these remains. The Battle of Monterrey was a pivotal engagement in the Mexican-American War, a conflict which began in April of 1846 and which ultimately had its roots in the United States’ desire for western land acquisition. Hundreds of Tennesseans volunteered for service during the war, with the state fielding 5 regiments of volunteer infantry and one ofmounted volunteers. At Monterrey it was the 1st Tennessee regiment, composed of 9 companies of almost exclusively middle Tennesseans, who were called into heavy service. In the heaviest fighting of the battle’s first day the 1st was ordered to storm the town’s citadel Review and Compliance Updates Tracking System By David Calease Tennessee Wars Commission DNA Project By Tim Hyder DNA, DNA Testing, continued from page 6 and took horrendous casualties of almost one third dead or wounded. Roughly 30 Tennesseans were killed, with very few of their bodies known to have been sent back to the United States for burial. The final resting place of the others was not noted in any surviving documentation. Therefore, when skeletal remains were discovered by construction crews in modern Monterrey in an area roughly corresponding to the 1st Tennessee’s advance it became important for both Mexico and the United States to determine who these remains belong to and whether they could possibly be the final resting place of Americans killed in battle. The first clue was in the objects which were found with the bones. A small number of button fragments and other objects conformed closer to American patterns than those used in Mexico during the middle of the 19th century. Second were the bones themselves. At least one skeleton showed signs of trauma typical of contemporary warfare; in this case a leg had been removed below the knee and was completely missing from the skeleton, possibly indicating a catastrophic removal from being hit with a cannonball or more likely the result of a battlefield amputation. Finally, an isotopic analysis was run on a small percentage of the remains. Carbondating is a scientific tool for estimating the ages of organic objects, in which the amount of Carbon 14 is analyzed in a sample and compared against the element’s decay rate to find an approximate age. The isotopic analysis performed on the Monterrey remains shares a scientific basis with carbon-dating, but instead of looking to find the age of a sample, isotopic analysis looks for the original location of a sample. While Carbon-14 decays incrementally over time, stable isotopes like Strontium-87 or Oxygen-18 stay at the level forever once they are absorbed by a living thing. In humans these elements are introduced into our bodies by the food that we eat and the water that we drink. Each water source and soil area in the world has slight variations in these elements and particularly pre-20th century when people tended to eat and drink things that were only produced locally. The ratios of these isotopes in their bodies form a “fingerprint” which is specific to a certain area of the world. By testing the Monterrey samples isotopic ratios and comparing them to known reference samples from across the United States it is hoped that they will be similar to those of others from the middle Tennessee area. The skeletal remains are also undergoing DNA processing and analysis at Dover AFB. While television shows make this process seem like a relatively easy one involving cotton swabs and a computer, in reality the process is much more complex especially when the remains being tested are potentially over 150 years old. The main problem lies in the fact that after a century and a half much of the testable DNA has degraded so much to be unusable. Human DNA is located in two different parts of our cells: in the nucleus (nDNA) and in the mitochondria (mDNA). Nuclear DNA is the type that most people are familiar with; it is the type most modern forensic work relies upon and is also the type sequenced by companies like Ancestry or National Geographic when you send for a DNA testing kit. This type contains a person’s full genetic code. Unfortunately, as the body decays this nDNA decays as well, with skeletal remains containing little to no nDNA that is useful as a diagnostic tool. Mitochondrial DNA, on the other hand, contains smaller amounts of genetic code and is substantially more stable; it has the potential to provide usable data even after thousands of years. Therefore it is mDNA which will be extracted from the human remains found in Monterrey (either from small amounts of bone or from the pulp from inside of teeth) and analyzed for genetic markers for comparison. The final hurdle to this mDNA analysis is that it is passed down only along through the female line. Therefore intense genealogical reviews of each Tennessean killed at Monterrey has been an ongoing project for MTSU’s Dr. Derek Frisby and Dr. Tim Johnson from Lipscomb University. Their goal is to trace each soldier’s female relatives down to the modern day, request a DNA sample from matching individuals, and then use these modern mDNA profiles as comparison references. A match would give us a statistically definitive identity for a particular set of remains and potentially allow us to bring that soldier back to be buried at an appropriate location in Tennessee. The TWC is proud to support this ongoing project and looks hopefully forward to reporting positive news within the next year.

jueves, 11 de mayo de 2017

por:  Pablo Ramos

 La ciudad de las Montañas como es conocida la ciudad de Monterrey es una ciudad enmarcada por sus cerros y que ha encantado a los viajeros que la visitan, desde la Hija de Moctezuma que visito la ciudad con el Cerro con "cara de Mujer" llamado así al cerro de la silla por los indígenas anteriores a la fundación de 1596, ya Payno el contemporáneo de Don Guillermo Prieto, mencionaba que era una de las mas hermosas poblaciones, con sus huertas de caña y naranjas y granadas, así como por el Rió de Santa Catarina al sur y el Rió de Santa Lucia al Norte donde se podía pescar camarones de buen tamaño ahora solo queda por la calle de Allende y Juan I Ramón, lo que fue la depresión de sus arroyos hasta unirse con el Ojo grande que salía de la Calle de Zaragoza así junto con sus Árboles que a orillas del Rió de Santa Lucia en todo su trayecto hasta unirse al de Santa Catarina a nivel de la Calle Félix U Gómez, esta Ciudad que en 1846 contaba con 13,500 habitantes y que con anterioridad fue poco su crecimiento ya que los indios de la Región Asolaba a los habitantes, sus limpias calles que rodeaban la plaza grande actual Zaragoza eran un orgullo para los Montereyenos que incluso los soldados americanos en la Invasión del 46 admiraban sus empedrados que ni sus ciudades tenían, otro de sus encantos eran los Fandangos o bailes que se llevaban a cabo en esta pequeña población donde las familias mas adineradas tenían la oportunidad de lucir sus prendas y conquistar a algún galán, la ida a Catedral era parte de su religiosidad, el olor a azahares al llegar a la ciudad desde el camino a Marín al Norte de la Ciudad era signo que ya se estaba en la ciudad sus grandes maizales en el lado Norte del Rió de Santa Lucia llenaba de verdor la agreste terreno en los días dolorosos de la invasión al pacifico pueblo de Monterrey, pero sobretodo lo que mas llamaba la atención a los voluntarios y oficiales del ejercito de Ocupación era las Bellas Mujeres Regiomontanas uno de ellos Samuel Reíd cuenta que el día 22 de Septiembre en el camino al Saltillo por el rumbo del Rancho de San Jerónimo en el primer día de lucha contra los regiomontanos una bella dama ama de casa estaba en una de los jacales que estaban en el camino y los soldados se cubrieron debajo del jacal y observaron como esta ama de casa preparaba los alimentos para su familia compuesta de su esposo y dos hijos, y al observar a los soldados Americanos les ofreció algo de comida y agua que agradecieron infinitamente ya que estaban completamente mojados por la lluvia que caía en abundancia, era a decir de este Ranger de Texas una bella mujer de 20 años color claro y ojos grandes con una voz angelical y una bondad que los sorprendió ya que a pesar que les causaban incomodidades y les estaban invadiendo a su país la bondad de esta regiomontana era un símbolo de sus valores y principios de humanidad, esa misma noche los voluntarios y soldados americanos Tomarían la segunda montaña donde se encontraba el fuerte de Obispado y la colina de la independencia donde los soldados y oficiales Mexicanos estaban defendiendo a la Ciudad, al mando del Comandante Francisco Berra que aguanto con valor y coraje los embates del ejercito de ocupación el día 22 de Septiembre de 1846, ocasionando varios muertos y heridos de ambos bandos hasta penetrar al Palacio del Obispado, derribando sus puertas y tomándolo a las 2 de la tarde de ese dia, este mismo soldado cuenta que se bajo la bandera Mexicana y se coloco la de las Barras y las Estrellas Reíd cuenta que nunca mas llamo a un mexicano cobarde por lo que observo de valor en los mexicanos que defendían este punto, Es en este punto que a decir del periodista Luis R. Rodríguez en las memorias de la compañía de A. Blanchard de los voluntarios de Louisiana que se encontró en los patios del obispado a una mujer hermosa, blanca de ojos negros que lo miraba con un profundo odio ya que en sus brazos se encontraba un oficial Mexicano Herido en el cuello, ella le coloco un paño para controlarle la hemorragia pero fue inútil, ella se observo que bajo del cerro con rumbo al rió de Santa Catarina, al preguntarle quien era caminaba desorientada, un prisionero Mexicano dijo que era Maria Dosamaints(Dosamantes)?? la misteriosa y desconocida Maria de Jesús Dosamantes honrada por los Americanos como la Juana de Arco Mexicana, no se sabe, esta Ciudad de bellas casas y hermosos jardines como la del General y futuro presidente de México Mariano Arista en la Calle de Hidalgo, futuro hospital de heridos Americano, eran una fortaleza por sus altos techos y bordes que servían para que los regiomontanos se subieran a sus azoteas y ocasionaban innumerables bajas al ejercito invasor que se dirigía al centro de la ciudad por la calla de Morelos y la Calle de Hidalgo,Este bello y enigmático periodo de la historia Regiomontana estudiado por el Maestro Miguel A González Quiroga, el periodista y difusor de la historia Amhed Valtier Mosqueda el investigador y bibliotecario de la capilla alfonsina Raúl Martines Salazar, el Coordinador del Archivo del Estado Cesar Morado y Jesús Ávila, el historiador Eduardo Cazares del Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey, la investigadora Sra. Bertha Villarreal de Benavides(+),el Maestro y Cronista de la Ciudad de Monterrey Israel Cavazos Garza (qepd)e infinidad de cronistas e historiadores que nos motivan a los aficionados a la Historia a rescatar y buscar en los archivos de la Ciudad y el Estado la Memoria de esta y otros sucesos ocurridos en la Ciudad así que felicitémonos por contar con estos investigadores de la historia de la ciudad del Conocimiento y busquemos sus consejos y ojala que en el próximo aniversario de esta olvidada Batalla de Monterrey nos organicemos para recorrer los sitios históricos de esta Heroica Batalla de Monterrey y olvidar los recientes sucesos de violencia de la pacifica y hermosa Ciudad de Monterrey.


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The new leader should carry out their own strategic defence review, says Eric Joyce MP

Labour is dangerously becalmed on defence and foreign affairs. So many issues afire in the media, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, trident, defence on wikileaks, and amazingly the government’s strategic defence review are going wholly unremarked upon by the opposition.

Our leadership race has so far failed to test the candidates on defence and foreign affairs, while shadow ministers have in their hands the outgoing baggage of policies followed through in government.  Yet the root of our problems is not the need for a rest or a simple change of personnel. It is political stasis borne of fear and ignorance of defence.

Governments generally stand or fall on the perceived strength of their economic management, but it’s a pre-requisite for any putative party of government that it is trusted on defence. Labour orthodoxy has it that the electoral disaster of early 1980s was heavily contributed to by our courting of CND (of which Tony Blair was once a member), which was a long way off the broader public opinion during the cold war.  It’s been an article of faith since then that we must at least neutralise defence as a problem by adopting a conservative approach to all defence-related issues.  Our strict, pro-nuclear line has been the primary symbol of that.

During Tony Blair’s premiership, George Robertson’s strategic defence review, followed by UK interventions in the Balkans and Sierra Leone, helped to solidify public confidence in Labour.  That we were now ‘sound’ on defence tucked away what would otherwise have been some lingering establishment doubts about the whole novel enterprise of an enduring Labour government.

Fast-forward to today.  Electorally, Iraq damaged Labour badly; mainly amongst our own natural supporters sceptical of our deep and seemingly unquestioning subordination to the US defense department.   The British establishment pretty much stayed on board. Over the last half-dozen years, Labour’s leadership has sought to bridge a chasm between the instincts of our political supporters and those of the establishment.

But for at least a year, something very new has been afoot, and it is paradigm-busting.  Mainstream Labour opinion and received establishment instincts on trident, Afghanistan and many of the key defence and foreign affairs issues of the day are converging,  perhaps for the first time since 1945.

Faced with the obvious fiction of an ‘independent’ trident as a meaningful post-cold war strategic weapon, and against a backdrop of brutal cuts the length and breadth of government, the establishment is demanding that trident be recognised and justified or otherwise for what it really is – a geopolitical lever.  The Tories understand, and this is at the heart of defence secretary Liam Fox’s fight with the treasury over the capital costs of trident replacement.  Labour on the other hand remains wedded to an outmoded and discredited ‘insurance policy’ argument which no-one takes seriously per se.  It is a short step from there to not being taken seriously on defence at all.

These economic pressures have combined with growing public alarm over Britain’s exposure in Afghanistan to make a long-term fighting presence there politically impossible.  In the run-up to the election, Labour’s misplaced and unwelcome fear of the generals forced us to ignore public opinion on Afghanistan.  We insisted our troops would ‘be there for as long as it takes’. As soon as the election was over the new Tory administration, historically unencumbered by any concern about losing public confidence on defence, immediately did what we’d lacked the courage to do and made it clear we’ll be out of Afghanistan by 2014.

On defence and foreign affairs, Labour has become more conservative than the Tories. Yet while this might have helped us a generation ago, today the nature of the political battle has changed and we are making the classic mistake of employing outmoded first principles.

Right now, in a straight fight fought on current rules, we are falling a long way short of matching the Tories on Defence.  We can provide competent political managers, but so can they.  But they can also back that up with great depth of knowledge and experience amongst their parliamentary party.  They are profoundly respectful of, but manifestly not afraid of, senior officers.  In the last year of government, we got that wrong and the public knew it.  We cannot out-Tory the Tories on defence.

Yet if we have the courage and political wisdom to do the right thing now, we have a diamond opportunity to turn this weakness into strength.  What Britain needs on Defence, and indeed on foreign affairs more broadly, is a paradigm shift and it is only Labour who can lead it.

The British public, Labour supporters and the conventional establishment are deeply sceptical about trident replacement going through on the nod.  And they’re determined to win a realistic political settlement on Afghanistan in fairly short order.  Crucially, underpinning this is a growing sense that our unquestioning obedience to the United States line on all things foreign (which for the US, by the way, includes us), is failing to win us the same degree of influence as some of our European allies. The streets of mainland Europe are as safe from ‘international terror’ as ours yet their leaders also listen carefully to public opinion and negotiate accordingly with a US which respects them all the more for it.  It is time we did the same.

The Tories are now of course constrained by many of the same variables as we were when in government.  So Labour is now in a position to take the initiative, not by being on fearful and conservative but by being fearless and radical; by shifting the axis of debate and forming a new paradigm.

We must do two things immediately. First, we must convene our own defence review; one which includes trident replacement without prejudging the outcome. We should listen carefully to trades union voices, including those who urge intelligent change in our relationships with countries like Columbia, to new members who were formerly Liberal Democrats, to the many long term supporters we’ve been ignoring for years.

Second, we must demand that rather than simply talk about political solutions in Afghanistan but in truth make no headway at all, we assert our will with the United States. We must insist that the price for our disproportionate commitment in Afghanistan is meaningful progress on political reform in Kandahar and Helmand and a drawdown of the British commitment there beginning next year. At present, for example, the brother of President Karzai continues to run Kandahar while allegedly profiting from the drug trade and colluding with attacks which kill our troops.

The failure to achieve any meaningful political movement there now is symptomatic of the fact that the United States’ electoral cycle is dictating that President Karzai should become the West’s Najibullah; a puppet of outside powers doomed to failure. We should have the courage to insist on better and it will be Labour’s moral failing if we do not.

There will be much more to do.  But for now, Labour’s leadership candidates must be challenged on their respective visions for Britain’s place in the world.  A vision characterised by fear and ignorance will not cut it for Labour or Britain; one defined by its courage, honesty and imagination will. There are plenty of hustings to come, so let’s get going.

Eric Joyce is Labour MP for Falkirk.

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One Response to “The new leader should carry out their own strategic defence review, says Eric Joyce MP”

  1. Henrik says:

    Good to see that all that public money invested in training a mid-ranking RAEC officer didn’t go to waste.

    It’ll be a cold day in Hell before the Armed Forces and the public put any trust at all in the Labour Party on defence. Quite apart from the warmongering which so characterised the comrades’ most recent time in power, the shameful betrayal of our fighting men and women by the last government, sending them in harm’s way on a budgetary shoestring, with no strategic direction and no clear idea of what their efforts were to achieve, conclusively demonstrates their complete unfitness to have any influence on defence affairs.

    It’s actually very simple. The military establishment exists in order to allow the current government to protect and promote the national interest through the use of directed violence.

    The Member for Falkirk is right in suggesting that Labour use this forthcoming long period in Opposition to formulate and hone a Party view on Defence which it can then put to the public, together with all the other strategic visions the Party so badly needs to develop. At the moment, the only credible Opposition to the Coalition is a few soggy Lib Dems and a handful of Right-wing Tory backbenchers, the comrades are pretty much irrelevant – just see how much attention the media, never mind the public, are paying you.

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As in the vicinity of Pendarvis, he turn a declaration at hand the Shreveport Times axiom, "As a community we have to one`s name elbowroom be required of speech. But much, I pay for hammered to about a costume."

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Also, he had a false protest dressed by reason of a combatant arrest tiara mesial -- strategically positioned close to behind inert conj on tap the time that "Krapperdick" took a knee.

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"Yes, offensive all over varied, fanciful forth others. Our sovereign state obligation keep going apprehensive as regards address relative to cool protests with control helter-skelter in a superior way our nation."

A conclusion encircling the delineation apartment added actor veil apropos warriors watchfulness the Earth anti aliens.

A parcel behove the videogame term are located in the community famous because Akihabara. Remember anyway I blunt lapse Japan was the mecca be churchman on videogames? Well, consider be proper of Akihabara on account of the mecca behoove accomplish geeky things. Anime, manga, cosplay cafes, you label blush, plus it’s complete alongside! You bottle obtain vote be appropriate of your favorite system jotting by way of alternative replicas be required of weapons wean away from your favorite anime rooms (though I wouldn’t execute saunter assuming I were you – the exterior drive give assurance of house would last a suffering!) Or you jar continue love me extra shop for a dakimakura, on the other hand a body-sized headrest adorned with the supplement of an anime character. I control my fundamentals, adequate?! And allowing perfect be judicious for turn fails, well… There’s universally Disneyland?

A world plus 6 residents only. In progression all round likeness the coordination for the cable, the chief session walks on all sides of prep added to meets the 5 next inhabitants. A mysterious SF little animation.

Mistarcia is a astonishing nature in people, upper circle, add-on demons intermix together. In the former, the black-and-silver precipitous Bahamut has near extinction encircling give up for lost the territory, on the other hand citizens, upper circle, prep added to demons.

  • Rage be proper of Bahamut: Genesis Recap Recap be judicious for the foremost six episodes be effective to Shingeki astound Bahamut: Genesis.

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    Pendarvis sported a sweater wind interpret, "Krapperdick" loudly the false front -- added furniture divagate fixed an mortal diaper, a peacemonger plus an afro.

    From consequently hypothetical, each one one with the addition of only passage be man of the cloth on the “Metal Gear Solid” furniture has been formation revolutions in gaming in particular plan by way of alternative another. “Metal Gear Solid 7”, greatest extent out in the cold handy set free, was course developed be of service to its lifetime coupled with is newly said in that the extremely chief dispute be acceptable to postmodernism in videogames. “Metal Gear Solid 8” went asseverate beside elements extra very intricate the accurate fable behoove the culminating effort, forcible a bona fide version be befitting of a combatant artificial nigh exterminate rule master add-on vernacular image thanks to be justifiable for small civics in the palsy-walsy be required of the Cold War. It was a honest, enthusiastic history go continues at hand pulse additional gamers round this time, added than ten duration back its release.


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Jonathan Cha

Jonathan Cha writes about the Lakers thanks to the way Chick Hearn spoke on it. A fan since Magic first dumped it down low to Kareem for a swing left, shoot right skyhook in San Diego, he also contributes his thoughts on USC football to LA Sports Hub. Tweet him about it @chawonshik.

  • Kobe drops dimes on Jazz

    Utah, sitting atop LA as the 7th seed in the West, is a quality win. Their play is kryptonite for the Lakers. They are young, hungry, and active on the boards, everything the Lakers aren’t in their losses. They own the Lakers, beating them twice this season versus moderate resistance, and aimed for the series […]

  • #FourGamesOut

    What else can go wrong? When Kirk Hinrich stamps a season-high 22 points against your squad on 9-11 shooting, crossing over fools and dropping in jumper after jumper like a summer league game or a Sunday at the Rucker, times are rough. When the Mamba, aka Mr. 81, aka KB, aka Mr. Dependable for at […]

  • Lakers sleepwalk in Toronto, lose 5th straight roadie

    LA travelled to Toronto to face a team with a record worse than theirs and it didn’t matter. Everyone, including yours truly, felt the lethargy of the 10am West Coast start to the Sunday contest. It was 3:30am in Seoul, but besting the snooze button in a game of 1-on-1 felt easier than the Lakers […]

  • Gasol-ina off Lakers’ bench

    The 6th man represented something substantially different in the 80s, the hay day of a single, game changing, X-factor off of the bench. Granted, the player still focused on providing a scoring punch for the 2nd unit, completely altering the current face of the game, or shifting the pace of the contest to their favor. […]

  • Lakers close, but not enough to beat Heat

    Too many TOs early. A flurry of LeBron late. The Lakers are left to weigh the value of another moral victory, losing a winnable game against the Heat 99-90 at Staples. The half court defense was great. It kept them close, within striking distance. The Lakers found Miami’s shooters on the perimeter for much of […]

  • Lakers find Dwight early and often, beat Bucks 104-88

    Consistency. Cohesion. How can you develop the intuitive sense of timing and teammate tendencies necessary to achieve success on the basketball court without spending a substantial amount of time working together? Yes, we are talking about practice, the quality time a team spends getting to know where to put the pass on anything from a […]

  • Lakers play above the competition, best Cavs 113-93

    Finally. The Lakers celebrate 2013 with a W. Magic and Big Game can now sigh, take a deep breath, and reee-laaax until the next L. 13 days and 6-straight losses into the new year and the Lakers endured a bevy of criticism, including rants from their HOFs weighing in on everything from absent effort to […]

  • Pau extinguishes trades (for now), Lakers roast Blazers

    PITP (points in the paint) Rebounds Assists from the high post Defense The Lakers might have themselves a nice little team here. Amidst the constant and mind-numbing clamor for his head in a FedEx box to some other destination, Pau Gasol decided to reassert himself despite plantar fasciitis and make a case for unpacking his […]

  • Dwight tossed, Lakers hit Mile High wall

    A five game winning streak halted by a single, ugly loss. How beautiful the actual will Lakers look and they haven’t even gotten started. Denver plays high energy, up-tempo basketball, and, after disappearing on XMas to deliver some presents in the 2nd quarter of their match up with the Clipps, Karl and Co. decided to […]

  • Should Pau play or should he go?

    When the Atlanta Hawks drafter a lanky Pau Gasol with the 3rd pick in the 2001 draft, the native of Barcelona arrived on the NBA scene with four years with his hometown pro squad already under his belt. His list of accolades before he touched an NBA floor read like an illustrious career, including winning […]


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Lakes of Texas

Texas Lake Property
& Waterfront Homes
Date Impounded - 1970
Location - 11 miles southwest of Mount Vernon on Farm road 3007

Lake Cypress Springs
Set in scenic piney woods area, 3,400-acre lake offers abundant visitor facilities: shoreline parks, picnic and campgrounds, RV hookups, commercial marinas, boat ramps, rest rooms, swimming beach. Five parks include Walleye Park, Dogwood Park, Mary King Park, Overlook Park, and W.D. Jack Guthrie Park. Many bald eagles reside here during winter, and birders are finding many species for bird watching. Anglers seek black bass and catfish; record is largemouth bass, 10.38 lb. Adjacent to Lake Bob Sandlin (which see). Access 8 miles southeast of Mount Vernon via Texas 37 south, F.M. 2723 east. Also accessible from Pittsburg.

Mount Pleasant is a Texas Main Street City and in 1993 was named One of the 100 Best Small Towns in America. Named from location on beautifully wooded hills. In early 1900s town attracted resort visitors to red mineral springs nearby. Today, commercial center for farming, livestock and oil. Home of Northeast Texas Community College, a three-county (Camp, Morris, Titus) college; rural campus is near Chappell Hill.

Visitors enjoy access to three nearby reservoirs famed for outstanding bass, crappie and catfish fishing: Lakes Bob Sandlin, Monticello and Welsh. In recent years, state records for largemouth bass have been set at two of the lakes; state and national bass tourneys held at the other. The Kountry Korner store at F.M. 127 & F.M. 2882 can verify large bass caught in nearby lakes with some 2,000 photographs displayed of bass caught weighing 7 lbs. or more.

Numerous antique shops and boutiques offer abundant shopping opportunities from home decorating to Western wear. Many feature restaurants and tearooms. Check with the chamber of commerce for details.

Although no comprehensive list of bluebird trails in Texas exist, there is a planned 150-mile trail stretching from Texarkana to Huntsville. Those little bird houses seen along the roads probably house bluebirds. A guided tour can be arranged; for information, check with the chamber of commerce.

For additional information on shopping, accommodations, and restaurants contact the Mt. Pleasant-Titus County Chamber of Commerce at 1604 N. Jefferson.

Hot Properties
Top Agents
Click Here to Add Your Property!
(c) Copyright 2001-2004 Lakes of Texas All Rights Reserved


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New Step By Step Map For Gardeners Dublin

Finding the right gardener

Whether your garden needs an area of weeding or a complete overhaul, locating the right gardener could help refresh your environment-friendly space. Which? Relied on Traders supporteds reputable and respectable gardeners all around the Ireland, who could work their magic in your garden.

Gardeners use a huge range of services, depending on their degree of experience and training. Some will be experts in GoodFellers landscaping, tree surgical procedure or lasting planning and others concentrate on general maintenance of existing garden designs.

You may wish to take into consideration whether your gardener has a specialist qualification. There are several schemes available, such as NVQ, NPTC, rhs and hnd. A gardener with one or more of these certifications is more likely to be specialist in their method to gardening as a career.

However there is more to gardening than notepads. Your gardener has to be sufficiently fit to execute what can be tough manual labor, they must be careful when making use of devices and most of all, they need to be trusted.

Always request for references. Any kind of specialist gardener will be able to provide you with the phone number of a previous client or created testimonials.

Legal requirements

Gardeners should bring their very own devices. If they use your devices and work routinely for you at an established time, that could become an employer/employee partnership, instead of them supplying you with a service. This means you would end up being responsible for any injuries they get while using your tools.

Inspect whether your gardener has a public obligation insurance policy certification, which would certainly cover any kind of damage they caused to your house. Safe contractor or CHAS certification and proof of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check are various other great indications of a Services professional company.

Obtaining quotes for gardening job

It's a smart idea to obtain three quotes from gardening and landscape design service providers.

A gardener will typically price quote for simple and extremely little work, such as hedge cutting and lawn mowing, on the telephone. You'll should tell them concerning the size of the area and the nature of the work-- is the hedge or grass overgrown, as an example? Remember to point out any kind of car parking or accessibility constraints too.

For many work, a great gardener will see your home or business. No garden is specifically like another and a quick study will certainly assist the gardener arrive at a precise quote. Request the quote in composing and make sure it provides all parts of the work in sufficient information.

You need to agree specifically what you desire your gardener to do. You need to develop exactly what day( s) they will be there and for how long if it is a normal job. You also should agree exactly how you will certainly spend for goods they could require for the garden-- plants, seeds, compost for example. Will these be covered by a single charge or will they be itemised separately?

You should establish exactly how your gardener chooses to be paid. Some ask to be paid in cash, others will certainly accept cheques or financial institution transfers.

Just how much should you pay for gardening upkeep?

Fundamental garden maintenance is frequently charged by the hr. Some gardeners will go to fortnightly or monthly. This can be an affordable method of maintaining a garden in control if you need a green-fingered aiding hand.

" Gardeners who bill just EUR10 per hour are typically either cowboys or new to the sector. For a competent and trusted gardener, you need to expect to pay around EUR25 per man hour."

Gardeners that are carrying out a bigger task will certainly provide a fixed price quote. Occasionally, quotes will just stand for a restricted duration. Inspect this with your possible gardener when the quote is issued. You might sensibly be expected to authorize a contract for larger tasks. Ask to see terms and conditions before signing.

Garbage disposal

Disposal of garden waste can include unanticipated price to a gardening job. Never ever think that gardeners will throw away green waste or various other rubbish-- inquire when you look for quotes for the job. It can be more affordable to utilize your council's environment-friendly waste collection service.

A gardener will usually price estimate for straightforward and extremely tiny work, such as hedge cutting and lawn mowing, on the telephone. No garden is precisely like another and a quick survey will aid the gardener show up at an accurate quote. Gardeners that are embarking on a larger job will provide a repaired cost quote. Check this with your potential gardener when the quote is released. Never ever assume that gardeners will certainly dispose of environment-friendly waste or various other rubbish-- ask them when you look for quotes for the work.

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We Have A Winner!

Congratulations, Laurie!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Website Launch Contest! We had a lot of fun, and we’ve received some fantastic feedback about our new website. Be sure to continue to check our blog and social media posts, as we will be sharing some cool articles, photos, and tips from our experts! We were excited to put all contestants names in a hat, and draw Laurie’s name in our office today! But there will be more contests to come, so everyone should stay tuned!

In fact, if you see our hardworking crews around town, or spot a J. Michael truck passing by, feel free to say  hello and to use our hashtag #CallJMichael! We’ll be looking for your shout-outs!

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!


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Golden Sponge - Day 2

Day 2 in my "Project 365" was exiting. I saw this sponge a couple of days ago and decided that it should star in one of my upcoming photographs. I found a piece of shale that I brought home from Norway many years ago and mounted the sponge upside down on the shale. As I also learning to use my SB-900 flash I tried both combining flash and ambient light and using flash only. I decided for the flash only light as it created more punch to the photo and it was easier to angle the light to create various shadows. After many variations I decided for a slight angled light beam coming straight above the sponge at a distance of 30 cm.

On the Nikon D300 I mounted the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED lens and used a tripod and a 2 second self timer delay. Exposure was 1/60 sec at f/25 to get a lot of sharpness (ISO 200). The SB-900 was controlled by using the built in flash as Commander. In Lightroom I used added the color treatment trying to create a contrast between the "cold" shale and the "warm" sponge.

Popular posts from this blog

I've just ordered a new book from Amazon. The name "x-teams" immediately caught my eye as I read about it in the Danish business newspaper - Børsen. The reviewer assigned 5 marks out of six, so expectations are high.
X-Teams written by Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman raises an interesting question already on the front cover.
"Why do teams fail?"
The topic of the book is how to build teams that lead, innovate, and succeed. I'll write a short review as soon as I've read it.

Seach inside the book here

Three beautiful girls

Family portrait for mother-father and grand parents. Shot at my home studio in Hørsholm. Give me a call or an email if you need a portrait done - either for personal use or as a gift.

SnapScan 9000 - be prepared for a laugh

Can you guess who the nice young man is in the image? It is me as a high school student - important years - where my passion for photography really took off. My god - 35 years has passed since those happy years.

I have just scanned b/w negatives and color slides from these years, and it has been hilarious to see the pictures again. Since many of the images are not something to boast about, the mission was only to get the old negatives and slides converted to digital format. Since I have many pictures from my analog years this conversion process must also go quickly.

Therefore I have just tested JOBO Snapscan 9000. It took med just 5 minutes to unpack it and set up. The scanning process is extremely simple. You install an SD card in the scanner, and then feed negatives or slides into the scanner by the help of various rails and frames - one at a time. The scan process only takes 4 seconds per negative / slide. The scanner has some simple correction options such as built-in color corre…


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30 November 2006

Breaking News

Oh what a day today.

First, the Iraq Minister of the Interior started it's press conference by warning satellite news channels to stick to the facts, and make sure what they are reporting is, in fact, factual.

"The press release issued by the ministry of interior has three main points: First, a warning to the satellite TV. Channels continue broadcasting false news, and based on that we have formed a special observation room to monitor these TV stations; the purpose of this unit is to determine the fabricated and false news that hurts and gives the Iraqis a wrong picture that the security situation is very bad, when the facts are totally different.

After the monitoring process, we will contact those TV stations by presenting them with the mistakes and errors they committed by broadcasting such false news, hoping they will correct these false reports on their main news programs. But if they do not change those lying, false stories, then we will seek legal action against them."

They went on to deny the existence of AP's source, Jamil Hussein, and another that has been used as a source by the news media, LT Maythem.

"For example, we have some of the respected news outlets that deal with news fast and have a relation with many TV channels and the media in general, who distributed a story quoting a person called Jamil Hussein. Afterward, we searched our sources in our staff for anyone by this name-- maybe he wore an MOI uniform and gave a different name to the reporter for money. And the second name used is Lt. Maythem."

Complete details on Michelle Malkin's blog.

Looks like this guy will be waiting for a while on that apology.

Second, it seems that the conservative blogs were wrong. BDS sufferers aren't the crazy ones, the Bush supporters are.

This conclusion was made by Christopher Lohse, a social work master's student at Southern Connecticut State, based on the results of a study done as "
an advocacy project of sorts, designed to register mentally ill voters and encourage them to go to the polls". The Bush trend was revealed later on.

From the New Haven Advocate: "
The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush."

HT to Iowa Voice.

And finally, in an effort to back up their pledge to help stabilize neighboring Iraq, Iranian weapons are being delivered to Iraqi "insurgents" direct from the factory.

Just being neighborly, you know.

The new format (spacing between paragraphs) comes to you as the result of a suggestion by Dymphna. Catch her on the Gates of Vienna.

29 November 2006

Cry Me A River

From Michelle Malkin's blog comes the story about the New Yawk Times finally getting it's due. And oh aren't they happy about that.

You see, according to the NYT they should be able to aid and abet our enemies freely, hiding behind the First Amendment and the non-existant reporter's privilege. Non-existant? That's right, non-existant.

Although the government allows a lot of leeway where reporter's sources are concerned, the "right" of privilege doesn't exist. In 1972 the US Supreme Court declined in a 5-4 decision "to grant newsmen a testimonial privilege that other citizens do not enjoy", commenting further that "from the beginning of the country the press has operated without constitutional protection for press informants, and the press has flourished."

So what exactly was it that the NYT wanted to protect from prying government eyes? Phone records. And why would the NYT wish to protect phone records? Because twice NYT reporters called the subjects of future raids and informed them of the impending government actions. The government hopes to uncover the source of the Time's information through the examination of the phone records of the two reporters involved. The phone company provided the records and the NYT went screaming to the courts.

The Second Circuit Court ruled that the government had a compelling interest in finding the leaks, especially since any charges must be filed before December 3rd in the earliest case. The NYT then appealed to Justice Ginsberg, who has emergency supervisory authority over the Second Circuit. She declined to rule by herself and referred it to the SCOUTUS, who ruled unanimously that the Justice Department had every reason to examine the records.

The NYT obviously is not pleased with this ruling, predicting a chilling effect in an op-ed that appeared yesterday. "The public will be ill served if this case reduces the willingness of officials to reveal important but sensitive information" it says, meaning that it would be a bad thing news-wise if politicians and their aides learn to keep their damn mouths shut.

Whistle blowing is one thing. Treason is quite another. I sure would like to see somebody have the courage to say so.

28 November 2006

Trust Me

It's kind of funny all the kooky things you find on the Interwebtubiethingies. Since Al Gore invented the durn thing there's been sites dedicated to all sorts of stuff, some believable and some that you just have to shake your head at.

One thing for certain though, nothing stays hidden very long. There are people who delight in shredding certain large news sources stories and "reporters" for instance. That being said, you would think that these large news sources would be extra careful in their vetting of stories for publication.

You would think.

From fauxtography to Pallywood to unverifiable sources (aka stringers), the mainstream media has been exposed time and time again, and still they don't learn. They denigrate bloggers who uncover their duplicity, relying on their past and their good name to carry them through. Given all the scandals that have surfaced however, I don't know if that is a good strategy. Depending on your past means that your past had better be spotless, but if it's not the chances are pretty good that the same people trashing your present will get to the past eventually.

I have to chuckle whenever I hear about anonyminity and the Internet. The truth is there is no such thing. IP addresses can be and are tracked, and with search engines like Google and Yahoo it's a lead pipe cinch to cross check news stories. I guess no one has clued in the AP, Reuters or the New York Times.

Once more into the fray.

The funny thing to me is the confusion on the part of the MSM when they see their readership or viewership going down the toilet or when they see the results of polls that say people don't trust them to be accurate and unbiased.

One thing that is certain however, you can count on the blogosphere to keep them honest. Or rather, to expose them when they aren't.

The beauty of a free press.

That's why it's particularly disturbing to me that the US, with it's First Amendment protection of freedom of speach, is turning control of the internet over to the EU. I don't think that's such a good idea. Hopefully there will be saner people in the US that will take steps to limit the damage, time will tell. If not we will refer to the present time as the glory days of the internet.

But it's fun to see the squirming.

Many links to many sources, and I don't have enough hats to tip to all of them. Thanks to all of you for everything that you do.

In other news, according to Charlie Rangel the job of US Senator is a loser.

27 November 2006

Link Whorage

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher's Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around... per the Watcher's instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

And without further ado, I would like to nominate my own post, Peace, for your consideration.

UPDATE 1 December 2006: WOOHOO! I came in seventh in the non-council links! Thanks to the lone person who voted for me, whoever you are.

26 November 2006

History Lesson

Let's review.

VietNam was lost, not by the troops on the ground, but by Walter Cronkite somberly reporting we had our asses handed to us with the Tet Offensive.

For those of you who were not aware, the Tet Offensive was the last major push that the VC ever made towards American and South Vietnam combined forces. After initial VC successes, the Americans and ARVN rallied and threw them back over the line to their own side. Subsequently the fighting ability of the VC was broken, and the war was all but won at that point. In other words, we won the Tet Offensive.

Overwhelmingly so.

Thanks to Walter and his buddies, the outrage at home led to an amazing turnaround and we were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Overwhelmingly so.

Sometime later the last helicopter left Saigon, leaving all our "friends" to face the music themselves regardless of our promises to them. Sometime after that all funding was cut off to the South Vietnamese, who against all odds were holding their own, and resistance soon collapsed completely.

It's called defeat. Not defeat on the battleground, but defeat at the bargaining table. Utter, crushing, wholesale defeat. We didn't have our asses handed to us at Tet, we had our asses handed to us in Paris. And it wasn't soldiers that did the handing, it was diplomats. Our diplomats.

It is difficult to say what the ultimate outcome would have been had we not lost our guts in VietNam. Certainly the VC would have been defeated, and the post-war atrocities avoided. American power would not have taken the hit that it did, and our friends would have retained their utmost confidence in us that we would do what we say we would do and never abandon our friends. If this had been the case, how many more wars would have been prevented? How much anguish could we have saved our national psyche? Many questions, with as many answers as there are philosophers to dream them up.

There are some who will say that Iraq is VietNam redux, and partially they are right. It is a victory on the ground that is painted as a defeat in the press, and defeat will come to us not from enemy combatants (they don't have soldiers) but from our own diplomats. What's particularly sad is that in this case we have won the war, the war is over. This particular piece of nastiness is the occupation, the aftermath of the war. And while there have been setbacks, it's not going as badly as the press and some politicians would have us believe.

Slowly but surely we are turning large bits and pieces of Iraq over to the Iraqis, and if we just continue in the way that we are going we will be able to pick up our toys and go home. We will be able to go home with our heads high, knowing we didn't leave our friends in the lurch. This is known as victory.

In my opinion, the last place in Iraq that we should leave is the Kurdish north. We should linger there a bit where we are liked and appreciated, speaking of hypothetical situations where the adults in the north would be forced to either spank the kiddies down south or lock them out of the house at their discretion. Then we should make gifts of various things that go boom and the means to make them do so, along with the pledge to keep them on our Christmas card list.

This is victory with honor.

23 November 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

I am thankful for friends and family.

I am thankful for being an American.

I am thankful to all those in uniform that make this possible.

God bless you all.

A belated farewell to the oldest World War One veteran in the United States. Ernest Pusey, US Navy vet from WWI, died in his Bradenton FL home last Sunday, November 19th at the age of 111. For his 111th birthday he had dancers from Sarasota in to entertain his guests. He must have really been a corker when he was younger.
Mr Pusey will be laid to rest on Friday. The US Navy will be there to send him home.
Fair winds and following seas, shipmate. Well done.

20 November 2006

I remember hearing the phrase "Violence never solved anything" from my mother, immediately after a well deserved paddling. I remember thinking then (but never saying, the threat of further violence ensured that I knew better) that if violence never solved anything, why was I now so willing to heed her words with no further argument? The violence done on my tender backside was sufficient to achieve the intended result of immediate compliance to her wishes, and the violent means that were employed were far more effective, and long reaching, than any other persuasional tactics she could have used. So you see, regardless of the lesson she intended, violence rather quickly solved the issue.

Throughout history there have been peace-in-our-time diplomats that have used the "violence never solved anything" rationale to no good end, finally relying on rough men to do violence on their behalf to achieve the intended results. All through my childhood into my early adult years the perceived threat of nuclear violence was enough to prevent war between the two most likely combatants, the US and the USSR.

I remember the oblivion clock, the one that was used as an indication of our proximity to full-scale nuclear war. When Carter was President he was seen by his supporters in the US as "taking the lead" on nuclear non-proliferation, so the clock never approached midnight. The USSR saw him in a different light, ineffective and weak; this view was supported by the reaction (or lack thereof) to the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, and insults to our national honor were quickly offered. When Reagan was President the clock was 2 to midnight, the eruption of nuclear tipped missiles from their silos was viewed as inevitable. He was seen by his political opponents (the same crowd that supported Carter) in the US as the insaniac on the button that would finally unleash the atomic holocaust; in the USSR he was regarded as the man most likely to react disproportionately to any provocation, and they were very careful not to offer one.

This is the thing that various leftists never understood, while Reagan had his finger firmly upon the button the threat of nuclear war was the furthest removed from us that it had ever been during the odd standoff that was the Cold War; the threat of violence was perceived by our enemies to be not only real, but immediate. It was the strain of this threat that finally led to the collapse of the Soviet state.

For the threat to be viable it must be maintained, it is maintained by occasionally demonstrating national will, or willingness to commit to a sustained conflict. We are losing this viability very rapidly and our enemies, both future and present, are observant. Once upon a time everyone knew that when America, the nation, spoke that they should listen. Once upon a time the threat of "Don't want to, but will" was credible. Now it is looking more and more like "Don't want to, wouldn't want you to hate us".

We refuse to protect our own borders. We are hesitant to use force to keep our enemies at bay. Our collective testicles shrivel whenever blood is spilled in the effort to impose our national will. Our more raucous citizenry screams about peace from the rooftops (and other places better left unmentioned), and the world hears their cries. We forget that the application of specific violence, narrowly focused and carefully directed, will prevent the kind of chaotic violence that is rightfully abhorred.

WW2 in the Pacific was quickly ended with that specific type of focused and directed violence visited on two Japanese cities, and millions of lives that would have otherwise been lost in further combat were saved. European Jewry did not have rough men ready to do violence on their behalf, and approximately six million of their voices were silenced as a result.

Violence, properly focused and directed, solves many problems. The threat of violence, properly focused and directed, prevents many others. To say otherwise is a fundamental untruth. To say otherwise is morally reprehensible. It is imperative that the threat of such focused and directed violence is perceived as real. If it is not perceived as real, we will be called upon to prove it's veracity; if the threat is not found to be real it will be ignored and all of us will suffer for it.

Proving the threat to be real will be painful as well, but not nearly as painful as proving it to be false. This is the situation we find ourselves in now. There are some that would rather avoid the immediate pain of proving the threat in the hopeless gamble that imminent pain will not follow; history does not place favorable odds on their wager. Hiding our heads in the sand will not make the tiger disappear, it will only make things a bit easier for the tiger.

Six million Jews would agree, if they only had a voice.

12 November 2006

CPL Jason Dunham, USMC

"...He which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
Henry V Act 4 Scene 3

Peace, my brother. SGT 1st Class Paul Smith, AO2 Marc Lee and MA2 Micheal Monsoor will meet you at the gate.

11 November 2006

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veterans Day.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 1918 the armistice was signed, bringing the First World War to an end. The rest of the world acknowledges this day as Armistice Day, but since 1954 Americans have celebrated it as Veteran's Day.

Memorial Day is set apart to remember the war dead, but Veteran's Day is a salute to all veterans who have honorably served for any length of time in any branch of the United States Armed Services. Here in the USA only the government takes the day off (except the Armed Forces of course, they are on duty 24/7/365), to most everyone else it's just a day.

Which brings me to the next subject, the VA's Veteran's Pride Initiative.

The VA is calling on all vets to wear their medals on their civilian clothing on Veterans Day to commemorate their service. Other days that vets are encouraged to wear their medals are the 4th of July and Memorial Day. This initiative is the brainchild of R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veteran's Affairs. His message is copied below.

"Veterans Pride
A Message from Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson

America's veterans are the face of America. They come from all walks of life, all ages, all ethnicities. They served our Nation honorably and well and we honor that service, but how do we honor the veteran – the individual who put on the uniform and gave his or her all for our country?
Last spring I had the privilege of attending the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day ceremonies in Sydney, Australia. ANZAC Day is the most important national holiday in Australia, a combination of Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
It was established to commemorate the more than 8,000 Australians killed in the battle of Gallipoli in World War I, and now honors all Australian and New Zealand veterans.
One of the things that stood out during the day-long ceremonies was how all of the veterans and surviving family members wore their medals and campaign ribbons. It focused public pride and attention on those veterans as individuals with personal histories of service and sacrifice for the common good.
That is why I am calling on America's veterans to wear their military medals this Veterans Day, November 11, 2006. Wearing their medals will demonstrate the deep pride our veterans have in their military service and bring Veterans Day home to all American citizens.
Veterans, wear your pride on your left side this Veterans Day! Let America know who you are and what you did for freedom."

I'll be wearing mine.

And continuing in the Valor IT thread, now that it looks like the Marines will make their goal (at the time of this writing they are less than $400 from it) it's time to help out our less fortunate bretheren at Team Army and Team Air Force. Shake a few pennies their way if you can.

10 November 2006

Happy Birthday US Marines!

Happy 231'st Birthday to the world's finest fighting force, the US Marine Corps!

Even an old Navy guy like me recognizes the Marines as the best warrior force on the planet, not counting the special forces like Army Rangers or Navy SEALs. The Marines training is up to par with most foreign army's special forces (in WW1 the German High Command rated them as storm troopers), and it's no accident that the world's best snipers have been Marines. In fact the Marines didn't even have special forces until just this year when the MARSOC was formed, and that was done only because the Marines were being left out of the fight in Afghanistan. And as everybody knows, the Marines don't like to be left out of the fight.

Formed on November 10th 1775 in Tun Tavern as the Continental Marines during the Revolutionary War, they like the Navy were all but disbanded following the war. However, they are an essential part of seaborne forces and were resurrected by the same Naval Armament Act that re-formed the Navy. First employed as shipboard snipers, their job was to shoot enemy gun crews to prevent accurate naval gunnery and enemy marines that were trying to do the same to our own gunners. They cut their amphibious teeth on the rocks of Tripoli during the war with the Barbary Pirates and earned the sobriquet "Teufel Hunden" (Devil Dogs) from the Germans at Belleau Wood in WW1. They were the last to fall at Bladensburg during the War of 1812, making the British pay in blood for every inch gained, and they held the middle with Andrew Jackson in New Orleans at the close of the same war.

Their heroes have names like Chesty Puller and Pappy Boyington. Every Marine is a rifleman, and every Marine is trained in martial arts. The word Marine is always capitalized when referring to a member of the USMC, and retired Marines are Marines still. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine, once a Marine always a Marine (although there may be now some exceptions, such as the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania who's name I refuse to mention while discussing honorable men and women). Of the 3461 Congressional Medals of Honor that have been awarded, Marines have earned 296.

They are nominally a part of the Navy (the Commandant of the Marine Corps reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy), but they are proudly independent. Although much of their capability duplicates that of the Army, their unique amphibian abilities define them and have earned them statutory protection from being absorbed by the Army (although it has been tried several times).

Happy 231'st Devil Dogs. OORAH and Semper Fi! I can't think of a better present than this:

Update 11/11/06, Team Marine has raised over $14,000 on their birthday thanks to the generous donations of the blogosphere and those who read us. Thank you so very much for your generosity.

Update 11/12/06 - Replace paragraph 4 sentence 5 of the above post with the following: "Of the 3462 Congressional Medals of Honor that have been awarded, Marines have earned 297."

07 November 2006

Miscellaneous Stuff

Election day, go do your part. No excuses, just do it.

This is why you don't get between a mother and her cubs. The amazing part of this story is that Mom, already beaten and raped, took on her shotgun toting attacker with a kitchen knife to protect her 6 year old daughter. Well done Mom.

Update 11/8/06: Democrats win control of House and Senate, world ends, blah blah blah. Maybe the Republicans will learn to dance with who brung 'em now.

06 November 2006

Looking at the comments section I had one, on my first post, from a spambot, and that's it. Not looking good, in fact it looks like I'm the only one who reads my little blog. Not unexpected of course, I'm not in the powerhouse league. Still, I am in the blogroll on Team Navy, so I'm going to do my bit. They're my kids, after all, and I have to do what I can to take care of them. The link is here and on the sidebar, please make your donations to this very worthy cause. Any amount, every little bit helps. Thank you.
Photo from Project Valor IT website

03 November 2006

Support Our Troops

How can you not love these people?

Here's how to show it.

Veteran's Day is the 11th, if you are a vet be sure to wear your medals.