Sic Semper Tyrannis

Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Spacers

"The United States must be prepared to meet the emerging threats in space, which the actions of our global competitors have forced us to consider space as a warfighting domain. The United States Space Force appears to be America’s solution/ This Space Force will need to project power in secure America’s interests beyond the Earth

But what will we call the members of this new service with such a proud and vital mission?

Considering the nicknames of members of the armed services, soldier (Army), marine (Marine Corps), sailor (Navy), airman (Air Force) and guardsman (Coast Guard), there are three categories determining the nicknames: domain, function, or motive power.

Soldier and guardsman are based on the service’s function, that is, what members do. Marine and airman are both based on the domain in which they operate — the sea (naval infantry) and the air, respectively. Sailor is based on sail power, the means by which humans have travelled the sea for most of recorded history.

Nicknames such as “orbiter” or “rocketeer” are examples for names based off of motive power for space. Rocketry and orbits will not be overthrown by any other type of motive power for space in the foreseeable future, but mid- to long-term technological trends may someday yield significantly different forms of motive power. Extensive use of solar or light sails might lead to a new generation of “sailors.”"  The Hill

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Since last week we have "United States Space Command" as part of USAF and as a Unified Command under the Unified Command Plan, but it seems clear to me that this will be followed within a year or so with creation of a fifth separate service as the equivalent of ; the army, the navy, airforce and USMC.  The US Coast Guard is actually a law enforcement agency that is uniformed  and armed.  the US Space Force would be a separate service within the civilian Department of the Air Force in the same way that USMC is a separate service within the civilian run Department of the Navy.

The Space Force will be altogether focused on developing US assets in outer space and preparation for support of a warfighting command on earth if this regrettable necessity arises.

Soo, as "The Hill" semi seriously suggests, what will we call the people of the Space Force.

I vote for "spacer."

As Trenchard decided when creating the Royal Air Force (RAF)  during WW1 from the materials of the British Army Flying Corps, a clean break (unfortunate reference) should be made to indicate a radically different point of view.

Yes, "Spacer" would be the thing.  Enlisted ranks could be derived from that.  "Spacer First Class," "Master Spacer," etc.  I suppose there will have to be commissioned officers.  If there are, then once again, the example of the RAF might guide; "Pilot Officer," "Flight Lieutenant," Squadron Leader," etc., as examples rather than the usual thing. 

Uniforms for wear on earth?  I have already suggested black on black as the color scheme to mimic the outer darkness, but for god's sake, no damned neckties.  Some sort of pullover under jackets or tunics would suffice.

I thank "The Hill" for inspiring this conversation,  pl

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/459790-what-will-we-call-the-men-and-women-of-the-space-force

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_combatant_command

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Royal_Air_Force

Jim Comey, Have the Grace to Shut Up!! by Larry C Johnson

You think that a guy who has been repeatedly rebuked by the Department of Justice Inspector General for violating DOJ and FBI policies and procedures would have the grace to be silent. You would be wrong. Jim Comey has anointed himself as the Jesus Christ of America. Only Jim is wise and good. Only Jimmy can save us from that anti-Christ, Donald Trump.

And Comey's latest? Trump's a narcissist. Being called a narcissist by Jim Comey is akin to being accused of having sex with underage girls by the late Jeffrey Epstein. Jim Comey tweeted out the following today (Sunday):

James Comey‏Verified account @Comey4h4 hours ago

It’s Sunday morning. A devastating hurricane is approaching. A gunman just slaughtered innocents in Texas. But the President of the United States is wasting time airing personal grievances and live-Tweeting Fox. Narcissism is not leadership. America deserves better.

Could not agree more. Except the narcissist in Chief is not Trump. It is you, Jimmy Comey. It was not Donald Trump who overstepped his authority and read out a detailed list of charges against Hillary Clinton. It was not Donald Trump that sat on the news that Anthony "Little Dick" Weiner's laptop contained more classified Hillary emails. It was not Donald Trump who then belatedly announced the discovery of said emails.

 

Are General Flynn's Prosecutors Panicking? by Larry C Johnson

The short answer to the title of this article--YES!! Michael Flynn's new lawyer, Sidney Powell, is a honey badger. If you do not know anything about honey badgers I encourage you to watch the documentary, Honey Badgers, Master's of Mayhem. They tear the testicles off of lions. And it sure looks like Ms. Powell is emasculating prosecutor Andrew Weisman.

Last Friday, August 30th, Sidney Powell filed a brief with the District Court in the District of Columbia laying out in exquisite detail the misconduct of the Mueller prosecutors, who have withheld exculpatory evidence. The document is still behind a pay wall (Pacer). But let me share with you some of the salient points of this filing:

 

"The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act" Dennis Kwok

"We also explained in detail to the US lawmakers the kind of massive arrests and excessive use of force by our police force, which resulted in the apprehension of a large number of innocent civilians and left quite a number of protesters severely injured.

We also talked about the inhumane treatment to which some of the arrested protesters were allegedly subjected and the “white terror” imposed by the central government on certain business corporations such as Cathay Pacific Airways, where a number of employees, including pilots and a flight attendant, were sacked over incidents related to the anti-extradition bill protests.

Both Republican and Democratic members of the US Congress are pushing for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

One of the most important provisions of the bill is that HKSAR government officials who are found suppressing Hong Kong’s democracy, human rights or citizens’ freedoms could have their assets in the US frozen and be denied entry to the US.

We agree that the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act through the US Congress will help in our citizens’ fight for democracy and in defending our human rights and freedoms."  Dennis Kwok

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"Give me liberty or give me death?"  This sounds like that sentiment.

Would such an Act do anything material for Hong Kong?  Probably not.  Trump says that he hopes the CCP will settle the HK matter in a "humane way."  IOW he doesn't intend to do anything except use the HK crisis as leverage in his extended bargaining with China.

OTOH, this Act would do a lot for the conscience of the people of the US.  We need to do something that is actually selfless since we seem to have lost the knack for standing up for the "little people" in places like Yemen and Palestine against tyranny.

If such an Act were passed (probably over Trump's opposition) or maybe not since he claims to not give a damn about trade with China, then Canada should follow our lead in this.  British Columbia is packed full of mainland Chinese who have stashed their wealth there and who look forward to taking refuge in Victoria and/or Vancouver.

Palmerston, that mean old bastard, said that countries do not have friends.  They merely have interests.  Well, maybe so, but I would say that such an Act would be in our long term spiritual interest.  pl

http://www.ejinsight.com/20190902-the-hong-kong-human-rights-and-democracy-act/

Do the Brits and the French eat BBQ?

"BBQ Pitmasters is an American reality television series which follows barbecue cooks as they compete for cash and prizes in barbecue cooking competitions.

The series premiered on TLC on December 3, 2009. The eight-episode first season was filmed in a docu-reality format as it followed several competing BBQ teams around the country to various BBQ contests.

Season two premiered on August 12, 2010 at 10 pm EDT featuring a completely new competition game show-based format.^[1] Each week, four teams competed against each other. Challenges included common protein and more exotic meat. Weekly winners faced off against each other in the second season finale as they vied for $100,000 and the Kingsford Cup. The judges for the second season were Myron Mixon, Art Smith, and Warren Sapp.^[2] Kevin Roberts served as host.   wiki

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Is this show seen in the UK and France?

American BBQ is meat (to include fowl and seafood) smoked slowly for a long time, carefully judging the time, temperature (normally low) and seasonings.  Cooking like this is an art, developed over centuries to cope with tough meat like beef brisket, beef shoulder clod and whole hogs if necessary.

This is quite a different style of cooking than "grilling."  "Light the fires, and kick the tires."

Is this program available overseas and has American BBQ caught on?  pl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBQ_Pitmasters

"We will destroy Lebanon..." Michael Katz, MoD of Israel in Tweet yesterday

 

"Another video says that Hezbollah could soon have the capability to fly a missile onto an Israeli address as simply as if it was using the popular Waze navigation app. The propaganda clip even uses an animation of the app itself to drive its point home. Ironically, the video doesn't note that Waze was invented by an Israeli company.

 

These information operations come against a backdrop of real-world conflict. Israel has championed its operation last weekend against alleged Iranian-commanded Hezbollah drone operators in Syria when it flattened a compound with air strikes.

 

Israel has been coy about who has been responsible for at least four mysterious air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. And silent about Lebanese and Hezbollah allegations that Israel attacked a Hezbollah site in southern Beirut with small drones, also at the weekend."  CNN

 

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The IDF appears to have overcome its long-standing fear of "another 2006" and to be preparing for war against Hizbullah and indeed against all of Lebanon. 

 

In that war the IDF used heavy American made artillery to attack Hizbullah's fortified belt of villages in southern Lebanon (the Tabbouleh Line).  Following that, IDF armor and infantry sought to advance into that fortified belt but were met by barrier systems that canalized the tanks and troops into pre-planned killing zones where they were chopped up with Iranian made and product improved anti-tank missiles and aimed fire placed on the infantry from the firing apertures of fortified basements and other such positions.  Those IDF infantry who managed to entered the villages found themselves face to  face with Hizbullah infantry equipped with body armor and night vision equipment,  The whole defensive system was tied together for communications with SIGINT proof buried armored signal cable.

 

After a cease fire the Hizbullahis moved their fortified line back to the north a few kilometers and re-built it better.  Tabbouleh Line II?  

 

In the midst of this assault on the Tabbouleh Line the IAF ranged far and wide across all of Lebanon attacking infrastructure targets in an obvious attempt to intimidate the Lebanese into abandonment of Hizbullah.  That failed.  The Lebanese showed no such inclination and that support was rewarded by Hizbullah with a prioritization of re-construction funds to Christian villagers.

 

Oh, yes, the IDF Chief of Staff was fired for his failures.

 

Since 2006 the IDF has brooded over the ever worsening strategic threat posed by Hizbullah artillery rockets, guided missiles and armed UAVs.  My SWAG would be that Hizbullah artillery command now has something between 50k and 100k of such weapons in firing positions and storage behind the Tabbouleh Line II, which is now reinforced with many veterans of the Syria campaign in which Hizbullah troops have developed a lot of skill. and demonstrated their courage.

 

The Israeli strategic problem is that they cannot prevent a salvo or salvos of thousands of these weapons into the northern half of Israel.  They can't break through on the ground quickly enough to do that and their air force will be faced with a lot of antiaircraft fire.  This tends to degrade pilots' ability to press home attacks against individual weapon systems.

 

Nevertheless, the IDF seems to have decided to "grasp the nettle."  Good luck sons of the Maccabees!  Good Luck!

 

Would the US respond to mass Israeli civilian casualties with intervention in the fight?  All the world wonders.  pl

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/30/middleeast/israel-lebanon-tensions-intl/index.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232577