I'm back.

  pl

Comments

[Ishmael Zechariah]

Thanks Colonel. Too much going on. We need you and the SST.
Ishmael Zechariah

[Pvp]

Welcome back, hopefully recharged on all fronts!

[Matthew]

Fantastic. There is so much Syria news!

[Anonymous]

Still sounding like The Terminator, though. I pity the first one to make a silly comment here.

[Cortes]

Hope you and Mrs Lang enjoyed your break to the fullest!

Oases in the information desert are scarce. This has sweet water in the shape of essayists and commenters. Thanks again.

[jonst]

Smoke signals Matthew, so hard to decipher.

[Chris Chuba]

Col. when you took a break, it was as if someone rang a bell, and the normally active M.E. went berserk, especially Syria.
Congratulations on your recent anniversary.

I am NOT putting this on your plate but here is a partial list of things that happened; wow.

1. The Turkish army enters Syria in a pretty big way.

2. SDF elements skirmish with Assad's forces (in two places) and are now facing a resurgent, Turkish backed rebel force and being told to go back to the Euphrates red line.

3. The Russians use an Iranian air base, get kicked out, and now might be using it again?

4. The U.N. chemical weapons report in Syria came out. It does not affix blame, only usage, but the western MSM acts as if it entirely blames Assad.

5. Kerry is noodling around in M.E. talking with Turkey, Russia, (maybe Iran?) regarding Syria and is being his charming self in Yemen. I can't believe that he has the nerve to wag his finger at Iran over their modest support for the Houthis after our massive support for the KSA's invasion of Yemen.

6. Darayya is finally liberated by R+6.

I'm sorry to go on and on, I guess the point is, a lot can be set in motion in the blink of an eye.
Welcome back.

[Fred]

Welcome back and congratulations on the anniversary.

[ISL]

Welcome back, you were missed. The US election is exhausting, wish it could be as in other countries, say start to finish in a month (or less). Instead it is virtually perpetual. And congrads on 53 years.

[kao_hsien_chih]

Welcome back! Hope you have been able to clear your head without us badgering you and recharge spirit and body alike!

[Serge]

Glad to hear it! Next few weeks/months in Syria will be very very interesting

[LeeG]

Too early. Come on Pat you said Labor Day.

[Bryan Alexander]

Welcome back!

[turcopolier]

Anonymous

Is the Terminator angry? I am angry. pl

[JMH]

Fareed just whined about guns for an hour; I joined the NRA in response, something I never thought I would do. I imagine others, who never thought they would, will join as well.

[Anonymous]

The Terminator? I don't know if he is angry. I can't understand those cybernetic organisms. It's like LeaNder. Did you see her stating that she is human? I'll tell you it's some ten years since I found the leaderless creature floating around the Internet and since then I have tried multiple times the Turing Test on her and she always, always fails. It's maddening.

Sir, you are more like Beorn, Col. Lang. Patiently endures good conversation, but when the guest speaks more than his measure of wisdom would allow, then it's time to run. That's what I do most of the time here on SST. I tell something short, then I run. Something like:

"In current day America if the Draft were reinstated the democrats would make sure that every drill instructor would be selected from the hordes of fat and angry BLM girls!" And now I make a dash for the exit, stage right!

[Ramojus]

All,

Slightly off topic, but interested in opinions of the article from today's NY Times regarding Russian government's disinformation campaign.

Who is calling the "kettle being black"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/29/world/europe/russia-sweden-disinformation.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[turcopolier]

Anonymous

"you are more like Beorn, Col. Lang. Patiently endures good conversation, but when the guest speaks more than his measure of wisdom would allow ..." perhaps it is the punctuation or perhaps my "measure of wisdom" but this is not clear to me. pl

[Mac]

I like this :)

Thank you Colonel.

[Anonymous]

That would be the guest's measure of wisdom for sure.

But that doesn't mean you know everything. For example, your assertion that Fred is not Special Forces. There is some intriguing information about that coming from our 3rd world intelligence apparatus, after following a hot lead from Optimax. It says though Fred was interested in leaving his nucular subacquatic perch and becoming a SEAL, he (along with thousands of potential candidates) was discouraged when Demi Moore graduated from the BUD/S on inflated breasts, I mean grades (even though she proved she could beat the shit out of the King of Gondor and of Arnor!) But he didn't just changed his mind. Instead, he decided he would become the most ardent of frogmen. That's how our secret eyes found out Fred doing the last and most arduous stage of his frogman training. There in the quiet an pristine woods of the country of the "almost kingly dukedoms" we found him, expertly and lethally hunting for truffles...

[turcopolier]

Anonymous

Perhaps Fred i an alum of that fabulous outfit featured in "Wag the Dog" long ago. pl

[Balint Somkuti]

Welcome back Sir!

"It's the end of the world as we know it."

[Fred]

Anonymous,

Here's the dastardly guy in action:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051311/mediaviewer/rm1190180864

Truffles, just the thing for feeding elite sheep. Now if I could only get the training of these two right:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112431/mediaviewer/rm470784000