Latest Prometheus Trailer...

Can't wait to see this...have you noticed the enduring themes...Corporations are evil and naive scientist will get you killed?

Man being investigated by police for killing a 4ft rat!

via Sky

A granddad who killed a giant rat may be investigated by the police for animal cruelty.

Brian Watson killed the 4ft rodent with a piece of wood in Castleside, Consett, County Durham.

He said that the creature was a giant rat but it is possible the animal may be a coypu, a South American water rat, believed to have been erradicated from the UK decades ago.

Police say they will be looking into the matter after Sky Tyne and Wear broke the story.

The rodent was first spotted by the boyfriend of Mr Watson’s granddaughter, while he was cutting grass on a tractor.

Mr Watson told Sky Tyne and Wear said: “I heard him shouting there was a giant rat so I came running round the corner.

"I managed to grab some wood on the way. It wasn’t very fast because it was that big. I managed to kill it there and then, I’ve never seen a rat as big in my life before.”

It came to light when Mr Watson’s friend, Bri Mitchell, posted a picture of the rodent after it had been caught, on Twitter.

Police officers will need more information about the animal and the circumstances surrounding its death before they can decide whether any crime has been committed.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: “We are aware of this incident and our officers will be looking into it in due course.”

Geez!

Not Brit bashing but geez!

You can't even kill vermin now without running into a police investigation???

The Marine Corps has a messaging problem.

My Marine Corps has a messaging problem.


Headquarters Marine Corps presents the Marine Corps like this to policy makers...



Marines see themselves like this...

And the enemy sees the Marine Corps like this...

God Of War

Two out of three of these views are acceptable.


Guess which one isn't...and if you didn't say Barney (which I'm lining up for target practice) then you're wrong!  The usual suspects fawned all over themselves when the Marine Corps displayed its current ad...running to the sound of chaos.


What they failed to see (probably because a full scale amphibious assault is beyond impressive) was the MV-22's...CH-53's...MTVR's filled with USAID packages.  Look for yourself.  Look carefully and don't get caught up in the OOOHRAHHHH.





NO MORE!


Did you know that SOCOM has a humanitarian aid mission set?  They do.  They don't advertise it but they do.  Now why is that?  Because they want the focus to stay on trigger pulling (Special Forces might be an exception but they operate in a totally different arena).


This is one time when the Marine Corps would be well served to follow the example of SOCOM.

Humanitarian Emphasis. Dear Marine Corps, please stop it.

RANT ON!

I don't know who came up with the idea that humanitarian aid and relief missions was the way to go with Marine Corps advertising but its really gone overboard.

There was a time when the US Marine Corps put on firepower displays, had Harriers perform their aerial ballets and the Ground Combat Element conducted a mock raid.

Now we're show casing humanitarian rescue?  Relief missions?

Say it out loud and consider this.

The Philippines are staring straight at a belligerent Communist China over fishing rights.  A Chinese dissedent is in hiding in the US Embassy in China.

Maybe now WOULD be the time that we demonstrated to our friends and foes alike the tremendous firepower that comes at ya when you poke a stick at the US.  Maybe its time to let those who oppress know that the dogs will come off the chain unless they check themselves.

You can try and have the Punisher hand out candy on christmas but every bad guy in comic book world knows that the madman is really just waiting for a chance to fuck them up!

Even cute little mouse ears doesn't change the fact that the underlying symbol is a skull...you can give the grim reaper a suit but he's still coming for your soul.

Its time to put this kinder, gentler, politically correct bullshit back in the bag.  It just doesn't work and everyone from here to the Pentagon and over to Bejing knows it.

Elmo must die!

H/T to Endo Blogspot.



This video is picture perfect.

The home armory is a little small but I'm sure they're working on it.  But it does remind me.  I need to order a couple of cases of tannerite. 

Even you guys that live in the people's RepubliK of Kali-fuck my citizens (that's California for the liberals...all the conservatives understood that instantly) can buy this stuff.

Marine Personnel Carrier Contest. A look at the Terrex.

The Terrex IFV is from all appearances a technologically advanced (although not to any greater degree than other vehicles in its class) 8x8.

Confusion arises when talking about the different generations.  The first series of Terrex ICV were identified as AV-81's.  Current models retain the same nomenclature but differ in appearance. 

 Terrex ICV

Quite honestly I can't see much that jumps out and hits me with the "wow" factor.  The Singaporean Army is acquiring 135, Turkey negotiated production rights but has not inducted it into its own military and Malaysia is supposedly buying 420 of them but wants to produce them locally.


Wheeled 8x8 Infantry Carrier Vehicles are all the rage today but they've been historically labeled as armored cars.  The idea of using them in a combat role...even for the transportation of troops up to the fight instead of into it would have seemed beyond crazy a couple of decades ago.

But I'm off topic.  The armored vehicle market is changing.  The hottest market on the planet currently is the Pacific Rim and most of the power players produce their own vehicles locally supporting domestic firms.  Its my belief that publicity and street cred is the goal here.

Singapore Kinetics wants to get its vehicle out in front of potential customers.  The Marine Personnel Carrier Program fits the bill.

My earlier analysis stands.  The Terrex will get a look but isn't situated to win the competition.

Environmentalist. Why I hate them...

The UK. Time to rethink the "special relationship"..

120421-N-KQ416-554 ARABIAN SEA (April 21, 2012) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment oiler RFA Fort Victoria (A387) transit the Arabian Sea. Abraham Lincoln is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zachary S. Welch/Released)

Its time to rethink the "special relationship" between the US and the UK.

My reasoning is that....

*Culturally the two countries are light years apart now.  You would be hard pressed for a UK citizen and a US citizen to agree on anything of substance.
*The UK is moving toward Europe and away from the US.  Why should we stop it or be concerned by it?  The most obvious example is the move by the UK (instigated by them too) to adopt a closer defense alliance with the French.  This is by no means a game changer but it does give an indication of where they see their future.  Its with the French and not the US.
*What good is it to any of the involved parties?  The UK's citizenry (along with the rest of Europe) enjoys bashing the US.  It would probably be of great relief to the British people to see the US go away...most Americans caught up in nonsense wouldn't notice...and why should they?  It won't affect there lives.
*We need to focus on Asia and the special relationship drags us back to the same tired European issues that are helping to stunt our turn to the east.

There are a couple of other points that I could make but you get the gist of this.  We should treat the UK like we treat Germany.  Allied but not exactly friendly.

This nonsense with tech sharing has to stop too.  Its been a one way street and hasn't benefited us.  If you look at BAE's work with the F-35 its been under the banner of their US division.  They've had to create that division in order to comply with US restrictions on the selling of our tech on the open market.

Besides, with the way that the UK's governments been in la-la land concerning which airplane they want to buy I wouldn't be surprised to see them simply walk away.  Even that might not be such a bad thing.  It would probably add a bit of stability to the program if they left.  A few countries might decide to follow but not enough to make a difference.  Its been a US program from the start and if only the US, China, Russia and India along with a few select allies have stealth why is that bad?

Yeah.

This special relationship must evolve.  And by evolve I mean end.

NOTE:  THE PROBLEM ISN'T GREATER EUROPE.  Its the big 3.  The Uk, France and Germany.  With the other nations of Europe, if you look at the size of their militaries then you'll see a large contribution was indeed given to the effort in Afghanistan.  Additionally several of the other countries on that continent appear to simply want an equal partnership.  The big 3 acts as if they're the big brother to America the little one.  From the US bashing that is rampant, to the snarky editiorials to the revisionist history its all stale.