Cop killed in Illinois. Another break down in tactics?

via New York Times.

Authorities said Gliniewitz radioed in to tell dispatchers he was chasing three men on foot in the village of Fox Lake, 55 miles north of Chicago. Communication with him was lost soon after, said Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
"His backup arrived shortly thereafter and found him injured with a gunshot wound," Covelli said. "The officer has succumbed to his injuries and passed away."
Undersheriff Raymond Rose told the Chicago Tribune that the officer had also been stripped of his gun and other equipment.

JESUS!

One cop is gonna pursue three people?

That's just not reasonable!  I DON'T EXPECT TOMBSTONE COURAGE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT!

This guy perished doing his job, but we must be honest so others don't make the same mistake.  This was a breakdown in tactics.  Poor judgement.  And unfortunately he paid the price.

Militarized police?  I'm beginning to wonder if the real issue is a lack of training...or to be brutally honest....a Superman complex.

What if? What if the USMC had weaponized the CL-84?

Thanks to Robert for the link!



Check out the whole video but if you're in a hurry start at the 9:02 mark.  Now take a gander at the pic below...

Like CoffeJoe said.  What if the Marine Corps did away entirely with fast jets and instead worked on a tilt rotor force only.  No deep battle.  No interdiction.  No fleet defense.  That would fall to the Navy.

Where would we be today?

We'd probably have a CL-84 sized airplane that performed both utility and attack tasks.  We wouldn't have the capability gap of having the MV-22 that's too fast for the AH-1Z to escort but too slow for the Harrier and F-35.

We'd have a properly balanced and possibly more capable Marine Air-Ground Team....What if....

Office of Naval Research talks high water speed Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

Wait WHAT!

Did ONR say that they needed to deliver a high water speed amphibian to the Marine Corps within 10 years?

Did they just let the cat out of the bag that the ACV 1.1 is about to be cancelled and they're gonna wait for this mythical ACV 2.0?

Sidenote:  ONR is a place where projects go to die...or be delayed till they're available thru industry.  Remember that "program" they had to have civilians design the next generation amphibious combat vehicle?  It went nowhere but simply gave leadership an excuse to delay the program a couple of years.

Remember the news of the Georgia Police Officer that was shot last week?

Thanks to Joe for the link!

via Yahoo.

ATLANTA (AP) — Police officers who arrived at the wrong Atlanta home after a report of suspicious activity shot the man who lives there, killed his dog and "likely" shot a fellow officer, leaving him seriously wounded, authorities said Tuesday.

The bloody misunderstanding began Monday night when DeKalb County police received a report of a possible burglary at a one-story residence near an intersection in southeast Atlanta. Lacking an exact address, the officers were sent in the dark to a neighborhood where many of the single-story homes look similar.
Three police officers found a home they thought matched a description provided by a 911 caller, but were unable to make contact with anyone inside, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They entered the home through an unlocked rear door and two officers fired their guns at a dog, killing it.
A man in the home who exited a room off the kitchen was also shot in the leg by police, GBI officials said. A police officer was shot in the hip and listed in serious condition at Grady Memorial Hospital.
"Early investigation indicates that the injured officer was likely shot accidently by one of the other officers on the scene," GBI officials said in a statement.

Hmmm.

All these shots were low.  Were they trying for pelvic shots?

The Chinese purge no one is talking about...

via Washington Post...

After Xi Jinping took over as head of China’s Communist Party in December, some liberals dared to hope that change was in store for the world’s most populous nation.
Xi’s father, a veteran party leader, had a reputation for open-mindedness and moderation; Xi quickly embraced the idea of economic reform and even seemed to hint at some loosening of China’s one-party system.
Almost no one noticed when Xi reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin in March that their “personalities” were similar.
But now, six months later, Xi appears to be more of a Putin than a Mikhail Gorbachev, behaving like a leader more interested in consolidating his power and ensuring the survival of an authoritarian system than in adopting significant political reforms.
“The fundamental priority for him is to guarantee the ruling position of the party,” said historian Zhang Lifan. “From the bottom of his heart, Xi Jinping wants to be a strong man. But I am not optimistic. In my understanding, a strong man should be creative. I don’t see any new thoughts.”

Here.

It breaks my heart to say this, but many Americans/Europeans/Westerners are so damn greedy that they can't see the obvious.

The Communist party of China has been ignored and now we see the Party doing what the Party must to survive CAPITALISM!

What do I mean?  Simple.  The populace has seen a portion of their society (mostly connected party officials) get rich, start to flaunt their wealth and they still live in misery.

Quite honestly if Xi Jinping hadn't acted to curb some of the excess by his purging of the party, then we might have seen civil disturbances on a large scale.

Now?

He's consolidating power, putting those that don't end up in prison or killed on notice that debauchery will not be tolerated.

Expect the economic turmoil to last till at least the first of next year.  By then we'll see the purge completed, new constraints put on capitalism and a reinvigorated and probably more militant China.

Conflict between the US and China?  I move it up to 2020.

You say hands up don't shoot is a lie? Check out this vid!

Story here...You know what one of the basic problems for law enforcement is these days?  They're so used to being the ones behind the camera that they've failed to take into account that ANY and EVERYONE with a cell phone is a cameraman these days.  Seizing film from journalists in the past could squash alot of questions from the public.  But now we get to see this stuff unedited and LE Public Relations is too slow to react.

Really?  Seriously?  Check yourself!
Obviously many didn't take the time to follow the link to this story.  It would provide more information on this shooting.  First this wasn't a bam bam quick situation.  This was a loooong service call.  They were at that house for 20 minutes.  Second.  For all of you that are stating that this guy made a move to his waist you're smoking crack.  On one hand its immaterial.  They had already used less than lethal devices to try and contain him.  Next.  With an incident going on this long any weapon his person (remember he's a fat boy that's not wearing a t-shirt) would have been EASILY identified---even from distance.  Him making a move to his waist is inconsequential.  Last.  Why would they not have additional officers on scene.  But the biggest thing is that some of you are automatically defaulting to the side of police.  My question is why!  Is it because you've bought into the myth that they protect you from the evil in society?  To that I say BULLSHIT!  What keeps evil from your doorstep is luck, maybe where you live and the fact that MOST CITIZENS choose to play by the established rules.  Police aren't protecting you.  At best they're monitoring society.  But I could be wrong.  You know what I want to see.....

Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2015...photos by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jay C. Pugh

My question of the day. Why is Kim Kardashian famous?

Can anyone answer a question for me.  Why is Kim Kardashian famous?  Lets be actual and factual (and bit vulgar, but the truth requires it).

Is it because she's hot?  Has a great rack and nice ass?  No.  I see women as beautiful, as hot, as voluptuous with better personalities in passing every week.  They're not famous.  Is it because she did a porn video?  I've seen it and wasn't impressed or "thrilled".  I can show you at least 10 others that would make you excuse yourself from the room, only to come back only stupid.

Is it because she's rich?  The rich are a dime a dozen.  Don't care one bit about them.  They're usually conceited and self absorbed asses (just generalizing don't get it twisted).  Is it because she's from a family that is obviously dysfunctional?  Can't be.  You can throw a rock and hit at least half a dozen jacked up families.

So you tell me.  How did this woman become so damn famous?  Why are so many kids and adults following her every move?

Challenger 2 tanks on exercise Prairie Storm in Canada....photos by Corporal Jimmy McAllister

 

Wiesel 1 MK20 shows up at Swift Response 15...photo by Spc. Courtney Hubbard

German soldiers of the 37th Mechanized Infantry Brigade line up Wiesel 1 MK20 vehicles for multiple integrated laser engagement systems (MILES) installation in preparation for exercise Swift Response 15 at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Aug. 25, 2015. The purpose of the exercise is to conduct joint and combined training events in order to evaluate brigade and battalion level execution of strategic out-load in conjunction with allied partner nations through an intermediate staging base.

Interesting.  I'm not sure how I view Germany's armed forces.  They have fabulous kit but I'm just not sure how well they're funded (to illustrate the point, check out the G36 on the hull of the vehicle first vehicle...they're suppose to be switching to HK416's and you would think that the premium units showing up for this big dog and pony would be first in line).

Having said all that, their Airborne forces are interesting.  Much smaller than the US 82nd Airborne, they still outclass them in firepower and mobility.  The Wiesel Tankette is the perfect airborne firepower vehicle.

Russia enters Syria. We've been outfoxed again...

Thanks to MiloMonkey for the link!

via Ynetnews.com

Russian fighter pilots are expected to begin arriving in Syria in the coming days, and will fly their Russian air force fighter jets and attack helicopters against ISIS and rebel-aligned targets within the failing state.
According to Western diplomats, a Russian expeditionary force has already arrived in Syria and set up camp in an Assad-controlled airbase. The base is said to be in area surrounding Damascus, and will serve, for all intents and purposes, as a Russian forward operating base.
In the coming weeks thousands of Russian military personnel are set to touch down in Syria, including advisors, instructors, logistics personnel, technical personnel, members of the aerial protection division, and the pilots who will operate the aircraft.

And then this...

The Russians do not harbor offensive intentions towards Israel or other sovereign states in the area, and their main stated goal is battling ISIS and preserving Assad's rule. However, their presence will represent a challenge to the Israeli Air Force's freedom of operation in the skies above the Middle East.

Here.

Do you get the force of connection here?  First this is a Israeli news source and they're basically stating that the Russian move into Syria isn't a worry.  That alone is telling.  No longer is Russia being viewed as an agitator but more as a stabilizing force.

Next we have the US, Europe, Turkey and some Middle Eastern nations all engaged in fighting ISIS with no results.  Meanwhile Russia is parachuting in and will be engaging the bastards while being able to reinvigorate the offensive.

You can be stuck in your normalcy bias but the Russians are acting masterfully.

Our Pentagon and State Dept (not to mention the Administration) is being totally outclassed by the Russians.

We've been outfoxed again.  As much as Trump's rhetoric sometimes annoys it appears he's right.  There guys are smarter than ours.

Showdown between a sea snake and a poisonous stonefish (yeah, its fucking Australia again!)

via Metro

In the red corner: Ew.
In the blue corner: Gross.
Here’s a pretty epic (and slightly disgusting) fight between a sea snake and a stonefish.
The showdown was captured by Australian spear fisherman Rick Trippe, who was diving to explore a World War Two wreck in Darwin Harbour.
Mr Trippe is obviously pretty brave, he picked up the wrestling creatures from the water – apparently drawing on his experience of removing pythons from his chicken coop.

‘I’m silly but not mad. I knew this was dangerous. I knew if I grabbed it I wouldn’t get bitten,’ he told the BBC.
‘I could hear the fish croaking so I let them both go, but the snake made a beeline back to the fish.’
JSYK, the snake won the fight.
But it could have died following the altercation due to the 13 venomous spines on a stonefish’s back.
The poison is potent enough to kill a human if it goes untreated.

How can such a beautiful country have such crazy wildlife?