The June 14 date is when Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in The Committee of the Whole. This procedure and the desire for secrecy account for the sparseness of the official journal entries for the day. The record indicates only that Congress undertook to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form for them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and Schuyler) to draft rules and regulations for the government of the army. The delegates' correspondence, diaries, and subsequent actions make it clear that they really did much more. They also accepted responsibility for the existing New England troops and forces requested for the defense of the various points in New York. The former were believed to total 10,000 men; the latter, both New Yorkers and Connecticut men, another 5,000.
The June 14 date is when Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in The Committee of the Whole. This procedure and the desire for secrecy account for the sparseness of the official journal entries for the day. The record indicates only that Congress undertook to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form for them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and Schuyler) to draft rules and regulations for the government of the army. The delegates' correspondence, diaries, and subsequent actions make it clear that they really did much more. They also accepted responsibility for the existing New England troops and forces requested for the defense of the various points in New York. The former were believed to total 10,000 men; the latter, both New Yorkers and Connecticut men, another 5,000.
There also will be a new look for soldiers working at the Defense Department's headquarters at the Pentagon, with camouflage to be replaced with the more business-like dress uniform, Collins said.
"For soldiers serving in the Pentagon, we will transition to the dress uniform," starting in July, he said.
In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, all the armed services started wearing combat uniforms in the Pentagon, to underscore the country's war footing.
But Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year had his staff drop the combat uniforms, and some other offices in the Pentagon have returned to the dress uniform.
Back to business as usual?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2011 9:15 Comments ||
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#2
Gee, they're getting rid of a slew of really stupid ideas all at once. Plus they are letting the Rangers and SF go back to their berets, which will be very well received. And once again, enlisted Airborne will be able to annoy their NCOs by humming "Raspberry Beret".
And even the REMFs will be happy. Hopefully they will wear blues instead of those insipid greens. Blues just look better.
#3
The whole beret thing was another cultural influence of the Euros. Too many senior officers felt out of place wandering around their NATO brethren as the only one's without berets.
#4
It was funny when they announced the bidding for .45's for special ops. Every gun maker in America, large and small, came out with own their version of the 1911A1, except each and every one of them had their own little fiddle added to it to make it "unique".
#5
The Beret has its advantages + elite merits to be sure, but iff a Man wants to feel like a Man + a Soldier, the Patrol Cap is "it" - THE BERET IS TEMPORARY, THE PATROL CAP IS ANY, ALL, + FOREVER!
[Straits Times] THE California radio preacher who predicted that the end of the world would take place last month has suffered a stroke. So the world wasn't gonna end for all of us, just for him...
The Oakland Tribune reports that 89-year-old Harold Camping was hospitalised after suffering the stroke on Thursday night at his Alameda home. "Don't smite me, Bro!"
Charles Menut, a regional manager for Harold Camping's radio company, Family Stations Inc, told supporters about Mr Camping's stroke in an online message posted on Saturday. Mr Menut gave no other details. "Ay-yup. Popped a vein whilst he was having his Fruit Loops!"
Mr Camping's radio company spent more than US$100 million (S$130 million) publicising the evangelist's Rapture prediction over the past seven years. When it didn't happen on May 21, Mr Camping was widely mocked and he called it 'a very difficult time.' "I felt like such a clone!"
He has insisted that his prediction was correct and said the end would become apparent on Oct 21 instead.
No man can know the day of my coming... or something like that, which suggests that doing ever fancier calculations is pointless. Much better to live as if each day might be it, but plan for a long future, so the children don't go hungry if you're wrong. After all, that first generation thought the return would take place in their lifetime, and look how wrong they were.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Things got very bad, TW: In their enthusiasm to help the poor, they began selling off their means of production (mines, businesses, land), reasoning that it would all burn in the end. This so impoverished the Christian Church in Palestine that they had to get help from the Greek believers several times, one of which was organized by Paul and mentioned in passing in some of his letters. The tone of the book of James becomes clear if you know the economic situation and realize he's jawboning charity out of the believers who didn't join in on the selling frenzy.
Thank you for those critical details, Ptah -- I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about early Christian history as I ought to be. Someone ought to share that with poor Mr. Camping... and remind him that while numbers in the calculations are always exact as far out as deimal places can go, this rarely reflects the precision with which things can be measured out in the real world.
[An Nahar] Kuwait's deputy premier, Sheikh Ahmed Fahad al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, has submitted his resignation from the cabinet, a minister said on Monday.
"Sheikh Ahmed has submitted his resignation and the cabinet referred it to the ruler," state minister for cabinet affairs and government front man Ali al-Rashed told news hounds.
No reason was given for Sheikh Ahmed's decision to quit but local media have said he was locked in a power struggle with Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, another senior royal.
During a parliamentary session on May 31, MPs said to be close to the prime minister voted against a request by Sheikh Ahmad to refer a grilling against him to a parliamentary panel to probe whether it breached the constitution.
The panel ruled on Saturday that the grilling, which accuses Sheikh Ahmed of corruption and mismanagement, was in line with the constitution and should be debated in parliament on Tuesday.
The resignation becomes official only if the emir accepts it.
The prime minister and Sheikh Ahmed, who is also minister of housing and development, are cousins and nephews of the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah.
Analysts and MPs have pinned the blame for the constant political crises in Kuwait on infighting within the al-Sabah family which has ruled the Gulf state for more than 250 years.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Former BNP ministers Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, who were tossed in the slammer in the capital during hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... on Sunday, were sent to jail yesterday in connection with a case filed against them for setting fire to a vehicle on June 11.
First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan passed the order sending them to jail after they were produced before it with a ten-day remand prayer in two cases.
The court however granted bail to them in another case for setting fire to a vehicle on June 4 in the city's Mohakhali area.
Gulshan police produced the two BNP leaders before the court with a remand prayer and the court fixed June 15 for hearing the prayer.
In the forwarding reports, the investigation officers (IO) of the cases mentioned that on instructions of the two leaders their supporters had set fire to two passengers' vehicles that created anarchy among the people. So, they need to be remanded to find out vital clues to the incidents.
Opposing the prayers, defence lawyers submitted petitions for bail along with cancellation of remand prayers, adding that their clients were implicated in the cases as part of a conspiracy to harass them.
After hearing both the sides, the magistrate cancelled remand prayer and granted them bail in the case filed with Gulshan Police Station on June 4.
The court also directed the jail authorities to produce them before it on the scheduled date when the remand hearing will be held.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
Remember an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all NATO members. Think anyone would show up? Maybe the Argies can finally kill that organization once and for all.
#4
It's a sad commentary on "civilization" when two nominally sane countries have to worry about a war over something the British have maintained since 1833. Don't they have anything better to do?
Unless The One is proposing a return to 1832 borders? Messico would be a powerhouse if Texas belonged to it. Or would it be the other way around?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2011 9:12 Comments ||
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#5
Then again, England could station a Gurkha regiment on the Falklands, and the Argentinian military wouldn't go anyway near the place. Soldiers who were willing to fight the English deserted when they heard the Gurkhas had landed.
It would also be a fine place to put a reactivated Sikh regiment. Maybe one managed by Xe Corporation.
#6
britain should say that it is prepared to return to the 1967 Falkland Island borders with mutually agreed to swaps of saliva
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/14/2011 10:53 Comments ||
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#7
The real problem is the RAF and Royal Navy have been mothballed for "economic reasons." That's typical short-sighted cost cutting.
Thus the Brits would not have a way to reinforce the islands.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/14/2011 11:30 Comments ||
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#8
The islands don't want for reinforcements. There's enough boots and Tornadoes at Mt. Pleasant to handle any Argentine thread. There's usually an SSN in the neighborhood too.
#13
A twelve year old Gurkha girl-child, armed with knitting needles and a crochet hook... and a motion detector. Promise her if she's good she can go to medical school when she grows up.
Unfortunately, by many MSM-Net accounts iff the UK can't defend the Falklands, the Argentines are worse off than back in the 1980's in being able to attack + occupy it again.
* As per GWOT + alleged GLOBAL ECON CHAOS/FAILURE > UK = USA = IFF IT DOESN'T BRING ITS OVERSEAS MILFORS BACK HOME NOW, IN LT IT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO DO SO ONCE MILTERR NUKE-WMD "MUSHROOM CLOUDS" START DETONATING IN US-NATO/WESTERN CITIES.
Overseas Milfors will be watching their Families, Loved Ones, + Hometowns explode, etc. but won't be immediately able to prtect or do anything about it because their Fed Govts-States, including Allied, can no longer afford to do so.
Lest we fergit, "NUCLEAR IRAN" SYMBOLISM = Islamist Iran is unlikely IMO to formally declare itself a de facto NUCLEAR WEAPONS STATE UNTIL ITS NON-STATE/NGO MILTERR PROXIES ALSO POSSESS A MINIMAL OR "SUFFICIENT" DESTRUCTIVE NUKE-WMDS STRIKE CAPABILITY, OF BETTER, AGZ [major]US-NATO TARGETS.
The above does NOT count any NON-MUSLIM/
ISLAMIST, COMMIE + SOCIALIST- OTHER ANARCHIST, ETC, MILTERR GROUPS, NOR CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD GROUSP, WHOM COOPER = COLLUDE WID RADICAL ISLAM -the former non-Muslim/Islamic Orgz will want their own Nukes-WMDS as a matter of normal protection + security, ee "deterrence" + "flexibility", etc. agz internal + external,
"dynamic-static opposing forces".
D *** NG IT, HIS NAME IS "SCORPIO", HE HAS THE "DOOMSDAY DEVICE", + A SEXY SLINKY BIKINI-CLAD ASSASSIN-OFFICE ASISTANT GIRLFRIEND - HE'S UPSET BECAUSE A UNO OFFICE BUREAUCRAT-CRITTER THINKS A BUILT-TO-LAST-ONE-THOUSAND/MILYUHN-YEARS MAJOR US BRIDGE COLLAPSED BY ITSELF DESPITE SCORPIO PRESSING THE RED BUTTON.
#15
If Argentine took the islands the UK could simply sink the Biento Cinco DeMaya in port, a very symbolic target (if it's still seaworthy). That would be like the Dolittle Raid x10.
The A-60's nose doesn't seem to have any openings, however. Instead, there's a "large bulge on the upper back of the aircraft [that] is apparently a sliding port for a 1-megawatt laser turret," space historian Dwayne A. Day writes for The Review. "The laser is clearly intended to fire up, at something above the plane, rather than to the sides or down, to engage ground targets or other aircraft."
#3
The degree to which targeted lasers might blind, if not permanently damage, satellites is hotly debated in the military community. Models are very sensitive to assumptions about beam dispersion etc. Damage or operational disruption from air-based lasers is most likely for the lower altitude microsats that Old Spook and others favor (for good reasons) but may perhaps be possible for geostationary satellites whose sensors are designed to be especially sensitive due to the high altitude orbits at which they are inserted.
#4
I would think that a ground-based system would be more stable than an air-based platform. How would they "lock-on" to a sat from a moving, buffeting plane? Not like I'm an expert, though.
#5
US already has this ability experimentally, on a Boeing platfrom. Do they really want to get into a contest with us on that?
Posted by: The Other Beldar ||
06/14/2011 9:34 Comments ||
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#6
The article mentions a 1 megawatt laser. Fielding one would be a significant achievement - this may be Russian prediliction for 'claim the biggest'. Or not.
'Satellite killer' may be an overstatement. Dazzling one, i.e. rendering its sensors inoperable for a while, is a potential threat, against which the US would probably close apertures and thereby lose mission utility for a while.
Satellites are much more fixed in the sky than, say, an incoming missile, so an airborne capability might be possible.
#7
It could work and the Russians had the best military laser technology in the early 90s. They could have retained some of that capability and could field something like this.
However, my gut feeling is this is for show and to play the "one up" game. There are too many technologies that the Russians simply don't have to make this really feasible. It could very easily have a 1MW laser on it, but it might just lock on to nearby butterflies rather than a satellite.
For years now Chinese authorities have been installing spying devices on all dual-plate Chinese-Hong Kong vehicles, enabling a vast network of eavesdropping across the archipelago, according to a Hong Kong newspaper.
The report in Apple Daily states that the recording devices began being installed as inspection and quarantine cards in July 2007. They were installed without charge by the Shenzhen Inspection and Quarantine Bureau on thousands of vehicles.
Smugglers were the first to note something strange about the devices. A source told Apple Daily that after the cards were installed mainland authorities had no trouble picking off the cars carrying illicit goods.
For every ten cars we ran we only had [smuggled goods] in three or four to reduce the risk, but the border agents caught all of them. The accuracy was unreal! Apple Daily quoted the smuggler saying.
The device, no larger than a PDA, is taped onto the vehicles front window. Protective tape covers the screws, presumably to prevent tamperingthough it didnt stop Apple Daily from removing the devices, taking them to experts for inspection, and presenting pictures of them splayed open on their website, with neat graphics indicating the various internal components.
A senior manager in an unidentified company noted that those who qualify for the dual license plate usually have some financial clout. If their business conversations in the car were recorded and the information shared, he said, it may be enough to send people bankrupt.
HKBusiness.net, an online news site, says that businesses that invested more than $1 million in mainland China and paid more than 30,000 yuan in tax over the past year qualify for a dual license plate.
Apple Daily quotes a source saying there are at least 20,000 cars with dual license places, and tens of thousands of trucks and buses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now requires that all automobiles are required to contain the event data recorder similar to those found in aircraft in order to monitor driving habits and provide a snapshot of the final moment of impact if the car crashes. The snapshot will be able to be viewed by law enforcement, insurance companies and automakers and the owner of the vehicle will not be able to turn it on or off. Incorporation of continual GPS tracking is expected before the introduction of the new vehicle mileage tax.
It's official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression. And all that extra debt to prop up the housing market did diddly-squat.
Prices have fallen some 33 percent since the market began its collapse, greater than the 31 percent fall that began in the late 1920s and culminated in the early 1930s, according to Case-Shiller data.
The news comes as the Federal Reserve considers whether the economy has regained enough strength to stand on its own and as unemployment remains at a still-elevated 9.1 percent, throwing into question whether the recovery is real.
"The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression," Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, wrote in research for clients. Can we officially call this a depression now?
#2
... but was stoked by Fannie and Freddie and Barney and Chris. And by low interest rates so that no sacrifice was demanded while fighting two wars, since most of the Dems made it clear they put political sabotage over statesmanship and most of the Reps were spineless.
#3
This is far from over. Foreclosuregate, MERS, and un-backed mortgage backed securities have yet to make a full impression on our financial institutions' financial statements. And I'm doubting there will be the votes for another bailout.
#5
Prices need to come down another 50% before I enter the market. If not even more than that. All that extra debt to prop up the housing market did accomplish one thing - keeping the price of housing UNAFFORDABLE, although just a tad lower than it was in 2007.
The Fed has 2 mandates: one is to keep prices stable. Stable IMHO means constant, not inflating at all. Since the Fed was instituted in 1913, the dollar has lost about 97% of its value. The other mandate is 'maximum employment.' This is where the politicians can get creative, just declare 9.1% unemployment is as good as we can get, and declare victory over unemployment.
Retail sales fell in May, dragged lower by slumping auto sales and marking the first decline in 11 months, the government said Tuesday.
Total retail sales slipped 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department reported. The decline broke a winning streak of consecutive monthly gains going back to June 2010. But from a year ago, sales were up 8%. Economists had expected a 0.7% drop, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.
Declines were led by a 2.9% slide in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers. This drop overshadowed stronger sales at building material companies and restaurants, which came in the face of higher gas prices last month. Sales excluding autos and auto parts were 0.3% higher, beating forecasts for a 0.2% rise.
"The numbers we've been seeing from retailers lately have been running better than expected, and the number today excluding autos is better than expected," said Ken Perkins, an analyst at Retail Metrics. "But there's still definitely a soft patch unfolding here in terms of economic growth, which I think was reflected in sales of autos."
Perkins said the widespread supply chain disruptions sparked by the earthquake in Japan were mainly to blame for the big decline in auto sales last month.
But even taking auto sales out of the mix, many big areas like consumer electronics and appliances were disappointing, partly due to high gas prices. Higher energy costs will drive inflation up and stall any "recovery" we are experiencing. It will be the summer of stagflation.
[Al Jazeera] Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's re-elected prime minister, has pledged to build a new constitution for the country by consensus after winning a third straight term in parliamentary elections.
Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) won nearly 50 per cent of the vote on Sunday, but came up just short of its target of 330 seats in the new parliament, which would have enabled it to draft a new constitution without consulting other parties.
In a victory speech before thousands of flag-waving supporters in the capital, Ankara, Erdogan pledged "humility" and said he would work with rivals.
"People gave us a message to build the new constitution through consensus and negotiation," he said.
"We will discuss the new constitution with opposition parties. This new constitution will meet peace and justice demands."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WAFF > PKK LIBERATION ARMY THREATENS TO TRIGGER REVOLUTION AGZ TURKEY.
IIUC POSTER = opines that EURO-TURKS should join up wid HELLAS = GREECE since most of Turkey has "gone to the Arabs"???
There is an ongoing nationwide FBI terrorism investigation of prominent peace activists and politically active labor organizers. So far, the investigation has involved subpoenas to 23 people and raids of seven homes last year.
Investigations are examining possible "material support" for Colombian and Palestinian groups designated by the U.S. government as terrorists.
The agitators, all vocal and visible critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South America, deny any ties to terrorism. They say the government, using its post-9/11 focus on terrorism as a pretext, is targeting them for their socialist and anti-American political views.
They are non-violent activists with long careers in teachers unions, union organizers and anti-war and community organizers, according to Michael Deutsch, of the "People's Law Office", a radical Chicago lawyer and part of a legal team defending those who believe they are being targeted by the investigation.
Deutsch formerly won a legal settlement for prisoners after their riot in Attica prison of New York resulted in much murder and mayhem. Mr. Deutsch was also a past legal director of the New York based Center for Constitutional Rights.
The CCR, founded by communist lawyers Morton Stavis, Ben Smith, Arthur Kinoy, and William Kunstler, have in past defended paramilitary groups as the Baader-Meinhof gang, the Black Liberation Army, the SDS, Black Panthers, and Leonard Peltier.
All 23 of the current agitators invoked their right not to testify before a grand jury, defying U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, whose office is leading the investigations.
The agitators have formed the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, organized phone banks to flood Attorney General Eric Holder's office and the White House with protest calls, solicited letters from labor unions and faith-based groups and sent delegations to Capitol Hill to gain support from lawmakers.
So far, nine members of Congress have written letters to the administration asking questions.
The Indian government has just cleared the deal for 10 C-17s for $4.1 billion, and together with another six aircraft, the deal would be for around $6.5 billion, inclusive of the 30 percent offset clause.
...
Reliable sources, however, say the IAF could opt for eight more aircraft, in which case the deal for the C-17s could touch about $10 billion or so.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/14/2011 12:32 ||
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#1
If the check clears; we're golden.
Sadly, the C-17 line was shut down years ago...
Any other questions? Military Dominance? "No Can Do! "USA superiority"? Doh!
[Dawn] The June 8 incident of the shooting of 25-year-old Sarfaraz Shah by a Rangers personnel was the result of a personal feud between Sarfaraz and Afsar Khan, a gatekeeper at the Benazir Bhutto park, unnamed police sources told DawnNews.
According to sources, the Rangers personnel involved in the incident were aware that Sarfaraz was not a dacoit. Afsar had filed a police report against Sarfaraz who used to be his neighbour before Afsar shifted to the Shireen Jinnah Colony.
Sources moreover said that on June 5 Sarfaraz and Afsar had an argument at the same park, outside of which Sarfaraz was later shot. During the earlier fight, Afsar had called the Rangers mobile van driver Manthar Ali to the scene, but Sarfaraz managed to get away at the time.
On June 8, Sarfaraz returned to the park where he again had a fight with Afsar. As before, Afsar called Manthar to the scene. After the encounter with Sarfaraz, Afsar filed a report with the police while Rangers Sub-Inspector Bahaur Rahman supplied him [Afsar] with the illegal weapon to facilitate in filing the report against Sarfaraz.
Afsar and the Rangers personnel involved in the incident could face up to six months in prison for filing a false report and for possessing an illegal weapon.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
THE California radio preacher who predicted that the end of the world would take place last month has suffered a stroke.
It's official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression.
Retail sales fell in May, dragged lower by slumping auto sales and marking the first decline in 11 months, the government said Tuesday.
