USS McCain hit by civilian merchant ship. Once an accident, twice enemy action...

via Reuters

Ten sailors are missing after a U.S. warship collided with an oil tanker east of Singapore on Monday, the U.S. Navy said, the second accident involving U.S. Navy destroyers in Asian waters in little more than two months.

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while heading to Singapore for a routine port call, the Navy said in a statement.

"Initial reports indicate John S. McCain sustained damage to her port side aft," the Navy said. "There are currently 10 sailors missing and five injured."

Story here. 

Sorry Squiddies.  I know I'm gonna have a bunch of sailors chiming in saying that these are crowded waters and collisions are unfortunate but ordinary course of doing business.

I say to them...ARE YOU SMOKING CRACK?

Think about it like this.  In the span of a couple of months we've seen two of our premier surface combatants taken out of action for at best a year because of collisions in the Pacific.

We're not seeing LPD, LHA, or MPS ships hit.  We're not even seeing auxiliary ships that conduct special missions hit.

No.  The ships that are getting punctured are our anti-air, anti-ballistic missile all stars.

Unless the entire US Navy Surface community decided to lose their minds all at once this smells.  I could be wrong about enemy action but this makes no sense.  SOMETHING IS GOING ON!  What it is we'll probably never know but this is suspicious as fuck.

Breaking! Trump to address Troop levels in Afghanistan

via Washington Post.

A variety of options have been under consideration, including sending about 3,800 more troops to augment the 8,400 already there to train and assist local forces. Another option Mattis has mentioned is to replace U.S. troops with private contractors.

But any proposal to reinforce the U.S. presence there is certain to meet resistance.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” that he will oppose sending more troops.

Who will win?  The gloablists?  The pragmatists?

Doesn't matter.  We've lost Afghanistan.  The country is as unstable as when we went in and even if Mattis got his preferred option of adding more troops and kicking the can down the road, there is only one outcome left.

Eventually we will withdraw.

It's just a matter of when now.

Things are bad for White Supremacists identified in Charlottesville....

Looks like some White Supremacists that got identified via video are having bad times.  via Independent

A man who attended the white supremacist march in Charlottesville has told how his “life is over” after being publicly identified.

Jarrod Kuhn was identified as a “nazi” after an anti-fascist group posted 250 fliers around the Honeoye Falls area of New York in the aftermath of the Virginia bloodshed that left three people dead.

The flier claimed Mr Kuhn is a “leading figure with the Daily Stormer, an avowedly neo-Nazi website around which local groups have been organizing to promote anti-Semitism, white supremacy and violence against LGBTQ communities,” according to the Livingston County news.

Mr Kuhn confirmed he attended the Charlottesville rally but strongly denied being a “neo-nazi”, claiming it was a “crazy assertion”.

“I’m not a neo-Nazi. I don’t belong to a German workers’ party from 1933,” he told the paper. “... I’m a moderate Republican.”

Did you catch the wording?  "I don't belong to a German worker's party from 1933".  Another case of a person thinking he's being clever when in actuality he's just being stupid.  The German Workers Party was destroyed in WW2. He evaded the question and the reporter didn't call him on it.

Check this out from SF Gate.

A Berkeley man who was scheduled to speak at last weekend’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., has become the second Bay Area resident to lose his job as a result of his connection to the violence-marred event.

John Ramondetta, known as Johnny Monoxide on white supremacist and neo-Nazi social media sites, was a union electrician working in the Bay Area on a project for Rosendin Electric, a national outfit. On Wednesday, a company spokeswoman said he was “no longer employed” at the job site.
The spokeswoman, Salina Brown, declined to say whether Ramondetta had quit or been fired.

Yeah.  I've got mixed feelings on this but its not worth serious discussion.  I reserve the right to hate those that hate me.  If these fucks lose their jobs because of attending the rally then so be it.  I could easily see a slippery slope though. It's not over either.  Via Huffington Post.

At least four people have lost their jobs and several more are under scrutiny following the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

Social media users, most prominently Logan Smith and his Twitter account Yes, You’re Racist sought to identify those who participated in the rally.

Terrance Hightower was fired from his job at Mojo Burrito in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Monday.

“Mojo Burrito does not condone harassment, racism or discrimination of any kind. We swiftly took the proper legal steps in order to terminate an employee once we were made aware of the situation. We felt we needed to do this in a very safe manner considering the volatility of the situation,” the president, Eve Williams, posted on Facebook.

Ryan Roy was fired from his job at Uno Pizzeria and Grill in South Burlington, V.T., after a VICE documentary showed him at the rally.

Yeah.  Things are bad for the Swastika, Hood and Confederate flag boys that attended this rally.  Now for the icing on the cake. Via Vice News.

White nationalist Christopher Cantwell, who spoke extensively with VICE News as the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, unfolded on Saturday, is now wanted for arrest on felony charges in Virginia, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.

Cantwell is wanted on two warrants — both related to events in Charlottesville — for felony charges for the illegal use of gases and injury by caustic agent or explosive, Virginia Commonwealth Attorney’s Office authorities told the Globe.

Each charge carries a minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Asked about the warrants, Cantwell told VICE News he acted in self-defense and plans to turn himself in.

“I think it’s obvious that I acted in self-defense,” he said. “I’ll beat the case if there is any justice; I’m just not certain justice is part of the equation anymore.”

Wow.

This movement is in a hurt locker.

Good.

Open Comment Post. Aug 20, 2017

B-1Bs train with JASDF F-15s near Senkaku Islands via Alert 5.

B-1B Lancer assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), S.D. to Andersen AFB, Guam, conducts a bilateral mission with a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15 in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands, Aug. 15, 2017. These training flights with Japan demonstrate the solidarity and resolve we share with our allies to preserve peace and security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.

Interesting isn't it.

Now why would we conduct joint operations with the Japanese around these disputed islands when we are looking to the Chinese for assistance with the N. Korean issue.

It's almost like that UN resolution was just window dressing and the operation you see depicted above is a prelude to the second act....after N. Korea is dealt with.

But that's just crazy talk.

I mean we saw unexplained color revolutions/Arab Springs in the Middle East, whoever was behind that wouldn't have new plans for the Pacific would they? Naw, the Arab Spring was spontaneous and no one is working on trying to "shape" the Pacific!

China PLA - Type 99A2 Main Battle Tanks Live Firing

Breaking! 6 Law Enforcement Officers shot in Florida. 1 dead, 1 in grave condition...

via Yahoo.com

Six law enforcement officers on Friday night were shot -- 1 is confirmed dead -- in three different U.S. cities, their respective agencies have confirmed.

In central Florida, two Kissimmee Police Department officers were shot, chief Jeffrey O'Dell said at a press conference early Saturday morning.

Officer Matthew Baxter, a three-year veteran, died. The other officer, 10-year veteran Sgt. Sam Howard, is in "grave critical condition and the prognosis does not look good," O'Dell said.

Gov. Rick Scott erroneously tweeted late Friday night that both officers had died.

One of the four suspects remains on the run. The officers were investigating suspicious persons.

Story here. 

Four suspects?  I would like to know more.  Was this a planned hit?  Gang initiation?  Terrorism?  Wild hair?

One thing is certain.  It's 2017 and being a cop just got a lot harder. The terrible thing?  I think this is just the beginning.  I sense a serious war on cops coming.  I can't explain the feeling but it just seems that a real evil wind is blowing.

Indian and Chinese Troops brawl at 14K feet! This will get out of control!

via Live Fist.

They’ve been caught on camera shoving each other and flinging abuse, but this new video clip shot from a mobile phone capturing a particularly ill-tempered brawl between Indian and Chinese troops at the Finger Four area of Ladakh’s Pangong Tso lake area on August 15 is startling. The soldier on the left advancing forward are PLA troops, the men on the right belong to India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The video for the first time confirms reports this week that Chinese troops not only brought in a flag — standard practice during such posturing — but immediately escalated the situation by picking up and flinging rocks at the Indian men. The video begins with an equal number of troops facing off in a curved line. This group soon splits into two separate knots of confrontation. The one closer to the hill erupts first in a fit of violence, with the second soon following suit. Fully apparent in the video is stone-pelting, shoving, kicking and injuries. Wind has disrupted much of the audio in this clip, but the atmosphere is still audible.

Story here. 

Wow.  This could spin out of control in so many ways.  I can see it now.  They agree to fist fights and some young buck breaks a Ka-Bar.  Next thing you know he gets a chipped tooth or busted nose and it's a knife between the ribs and the shooting starts.

Neither side will back down either.

Both proud.  Both see themselves as regional if not world powers.  Both refusing to lose face to the other.

Yep, this shit will get out of control and it'll probably be more than a simple border clash.

This is my EDC. What's yours? (Pic).

So what's in my EDC?  Glad you asked (even though you didn't).  From left to right and top to bottom. The bag is a Maxpedition Remora.  Don't like to carry big bags (if I bag carry).  This one is especially cool because I can switch it from back to front carry and it weighs practically nothing.  Additionally it keeps me to only carrying the minimum.

On the bag is a wall adapter for charging my phone, the cable to do the same and retractable ear buds.  As far as that's concerned I'm not a music connoisseur and I mostly watch various videos so they're good for me.  I have them zip tied at the very top (near the buds) because I only listen in one ear. NEVER BOTH!  Paranoid like that.  I want my ears to detect that sudden "bump in the night" or day and I don't want so much sound flooding my ears that I can't get the signal.

Eyeglass case with my spectacles. A generic writing instrument.  A stylus for use on my phone (fat fingers) and a Nightcore Mt06.  It's totally inadequate but I'm paralyzed by analysis on what to get to replace.  It's 165 lumens and quite honestly that should be enough but I want more.  The problem?  Size and weight constraints.  I want the same form factor but at least 500 lumens because flashlights are like personal weapons.  They don't do you any good if they're so big that you don't carry them.

Next to that is a Gerber Multi-tool.  I don't use it as much as I should.  I always end up grabbing a purpose built tool.  I think its past time to put this thing to some sold work.

I'm not at all a knife guy but I carry Kershaw Cryo.  It's a good size for EDC, and I won't shed tears if I misplace it.  There are more capable ones on the market but I like this little bubba.  Again I'm not at all a knife guy but I saw that Kershaw Knockout with green handles, black blade and it sings to me.

Above that (the white thing) is just a cleaning cloth for the glasses. Below the knife, multiplier and flashlight is my trusty Glock 26.

Absolutely luv the thing.  Compact, beyond adequate firepower in a neat package.  I'm sold like stupid on Critical Defense 115 grain hollow points. I run that in all mags (I don't mix and match...some guys do and I don't understand it....I need to know the performance of my ammunition in every mag without having to add the stress in a bad situation of feeling the impulse of the gun as I'm trying to dispatch some goon).

In the pic you'll see I've got a Glock 19 mag inserted with an adapter from A&G.  Everyone (I believe) goes for the X-Grips but I prefer the feel of the offering from A&G.  So that's 16 rounds ready to go in my weapon and if carrying on body (which I do most of the time) then I have a spare G19 mag with adapter in my pocket.

I'm rather situational.  When I go to church or somewhere else where I'm a bit more worried about printing then I'll go down to the standard G26, ten round mag.  Usually even in those areas I'll have the bag in the truck so (locked center console...that's another blog post...got a recommendation for you guys) so that's either 31 rounds on person or at the lowest 26.  Below all that is my 33 round funstick. It fits my bag with no problem so if I find myself fighting bastards from the 9th circle of hell I have a total of 74 rounds to get myself and loved ones out of trouble.

Not pictured.  My little Samsung cellphone, my IWB holster and the fact that it's the 19th so I have cleaning supplies on the table.  Usually try and do a light cleaning and gentle lube on my carry piece on the 15th of every month.

Got distracted this month and missed it.  I'll make up for it this morning.

But enough about me.  What's your EDC?

Warhammer News (oh you thought it was over?). S. Korean Dove President says N. Korea inching closer to the red line!

via Yahoo.com

South Korean President Moon Jae-In has for the first time defined what he would consider a “red line” in dealing with provocations from North Korea, in contrast with U.S. President Donald Trump’s reticence on the matter.

The recently-elected president Moon said Pyongyang would be crossing a red line if it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and weaponized it by fitting a nuclear warhead on top of the rocket.

"North Korea is getting closer to the threshold of the red line," Moon warned at a press conference in Seoul on Thursday marking his 100 days in office, as reported in the local Yonhap news agency.

Story here.

This is silly bluster.  It's been obvious from open source materials that N. Korea probably crossed this redline LAST YEAR!

Consider this story another attempt to prepare the public for war....South Korean residents especially.

Additionally we can track the travels of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it's obvious between that and the almost CONSTANT consultations we're seeing between the US and Japan...and now S. Korea, that preparations are taking place.

We're seeing a psyops campaign against the American people with the intent to prepare them for inevitable war against N. Korea.

My timeline remains the same.  I think the US along with Japan/S. Korea will be conducting combat operations against the North Koreans sometime this winter 2017/2018 (Nov-Feb).

Open Comment Post. Aug 19, 2017

Breaking Barriers: The Stealth Barrier....Video by Burke Baker

Wait!  What?  The firefly was designed as a stealth drone?  Aren't they revising history!  I HAVE NEVER heard of that plane being stealthy.