American Heroes Channel (formerly Military History Channel) Collaborators.

With the interest in a previous post I wanted to inform people that might not know of the series by AHC covering Nazi Collaborators.  If you haven't seen it you're missing out.  They cover a wide range of figures that were unknown to me and it goes from southern to northern Europe.  A definite must see.

Finnish experimental armored “Valmet”. 1989

pic via bmashina.tumblr.com

Russia's New Patrol Armoured Vehicle (Winter Trials)

Interesting theory about the "Trump Taiwan Issue" by Medal Honor Winner Colonel (ret) Jack Jacobs.

Heard an interesting theory on the Trump Taiwan issue by Colonel Jacobs today on MSNBC.  The good Colonel pointed out that China has been bullying its neighbors, manipulating its currency and defying international treaties.

He also recalled Trump's rhetoric about China during the campaign.

Of course the usual suspects on both the left and right are rolling out the meme that Trump "doesn't understand" (I so despise that...how the fuck does anyone know what he does or doesn't understand...even worse that shit has caught on with the general public!), doesn't know the diplomatic framework and is disrespecting a rising power.

Jacobs thinks that this is the first shot across China's bow by the Trump administration.  He thinks this wasn't a mistake and was designed to let the Chinese know that there is a new way of thinking about them in Washington.

I hope so.

Cannot in good conscience consider a guilty verdict? UPDATED.

If you haven't seen the video of the Slager case then you're probably living under a rock.  Long short?  Black male motorist pulled over, had some type of minor infractions with the law, took off running...and Slager shot him in the back numerous times.

To add insult to injury (and I'm amazed that no one is talking about this) another officer arrived (a black guy) and appeared at best to tamper with the crime scene at worst to plant evidence (this part is fuzzy as hell...I've heard it both ways....kinda curious what the dept does with him, but like I said no one is talking about that dude).

Ordinarily I'd kick back, relax and watch how this all plays out but one of the jurors said something that made me freeze in my tracks.  Check this out from NBC News.

A lone juror said Friday he can't convict a white former police officer who fatally shot a black man in South Carolina, and the jury said they want to continue deliberating.
The juror in a letter to the court said "I cannot in good conscience consider a guilty verdict" against Michael Slager, a former patrolman who pulled over Walter Scott in North Charleston, and ended up shooting him as a bystander recorded the incident on video.
The jury foreperson said in a separate note to the court that it was only one juror who was "having issues," Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said. The juror opposed to conviction said in the letter, "I cannot and will not change my mind," Newman said.

The crazy thing?  I'm not sure cause I'm not a lawyer but after the juror made that statement even if they come back with some type of guilty verdict this trial is tainted and the conviction will be easily over turned.

I thought that state and local govts could handle these kind of cases. I think I was wrong.

UPDATE.  The juror that I quoted above said quite a bit more than the news media initially told us.  Quite honestly I thought that somehow a KKK member made it onto the jury but the juror is questioning the choices laid out before him.  I'm thinking but not sure that they probably pressed for murder and this juror is thinking this is more an involuntary manslaughter case.  The only reason why I give this a bit of "hope" is because they're talking about what wasn't seen on the tape.  Supposedly Scott grabbed at the officers taser.  What the truth is I don't know.  I wasn't there.

Collaborator.

via warpicshistory

A French woman accused of collaborating with the Germans had her head shaved and swastikas painted on her face. Many French women who slept with German soldiers or officials received this or sometimes even harsher treatment at the hands of their countrymen as northern France was liberated in the summer of 1944. 

The act of shaving a womans head as punishment dates back to as far as biblical times. The Visigoths used the punishment in the Dark Ages and during the medieval era this was often used as a punishment for adultery as a woman’s long hair was a symbol of the feminine and a mark of beauty. Shaving a woman bald was one of the worst humiliations. I personally have a difficult time with these images. These women all had different stories. Many French women had husbands killed in the 1940 Battle of France and saw German soldiers as a way to support themselves in difficult times. Frenzied punishment without due process of law is never a good thing, even when done with good 

Kim Jong Un Tells Troops 'Wipe Out South Korea'

via International Business Times

Kim Jong Un instructed North Korean troops to "wipe out South Korea" in the latest sign of aggression from North Korea's supreme leader. Kim's remarks came during a military border exercise this week as the United Nations Security Council adopted sanctions targeting Pyongyang's coal exports.
"This is how we must forcefully respond to those South Koreans. At first strike we must completely break the will of those South Koreans and wipe them all out," Kim said according state-controlled television network KCTV.
Kim spoke directly to a marine brigade and a frontline unit that has been tasked with fighting Seoul. The drills included the rapid firing of artillery and Kim was briefed on their training plan, UPI reported Friday.

Ya know what the good news is?  The good news is that we can expect little statements by the little madman in N. Korea on an almost quarterly basis.

The bad news is that you can feel the Neo-Con (both Republicans and Democrats) are almost hoping that N. Korea does something stupid to test Trump's administration.

Infantería de Marina (Spanish Navy Marines) on exercise.

Open Comment Post. Dec 2, 2016.

Feel my mood!

What's on your mind people!

Gen Mattis will be the next SecDef. Why is everyone so excited?

So Trump picked Mattis to be the next SecDef.  Everyone is excited, the meme machines are working overtime and people are basically fapping themselves to death over the thought that he's the new boss.

Why?

Why is everyone so excited?

Seriously step back and think about it.  What do you know about his views on things?  What are his views on the fight in Iraq/Syria?  How about his stance toward China?  How does he feel about the F-35, the Marine Corps SPMAGTF, Expeditionary Rifle Squads, the LCS, the US Army going heavy, SOCOM being worked to death, too damn many Generals for one of the smallest forces in history and so on.

What experience does he have in managing the beast that is the Pentagon?  Will he be able to reign in all the fraud, waste and abuse?

People are nutting all over themselves in joy because he made some typically Marine Corps type statements to the press and he wears stars.  He commanded the Marine Corps assault into Iraq to much acclaim.

But is he the right man that we need to bring order and sanity back to the Pentagon?

I grant you this.  If Trump believes that the Pentagon is horribly demoralized and is need of revitalization more than reform then he picked well.

Mattis could motivate someone to run thru a wall.

If we need true reform...the kind of reform that is painful and requires destroying fiefdoms that dot the Pentagon landscape then I'm not so sure.  Oh and mind you this is without any discussion of some of the more "controversial" issues that have popped up out of nowhere from supposedly military friendly websites/publications etc (yeah I'm talking women in combat, transgenders in uniform ... we have no idea where Mattis stands on those issues).

So cheer this decision if you must but understand that there is really no such thing as a "retired" General/Admiral....which means that if he did oppose some of the decisions made he chose to remain silent.

Courage under fire is easy.  Moral courage is hard.

I don't want to pour water on your enthusiasm for this appointment but the reality is that General Mattis is a known unknown.  We just don't know with this guy.  Amazingly he's talked alot but said very little.

Oh and how excited are people?  Check out the little ditty below from MARSOC!

Breeze Light Armored Vehicle via IHS Janes.

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via IHS Janes

Belarus' Minotor-Service has developed a new tracked light armoured vehicle (LAV), IHS Jane's has learned.

Designated Breeze, the vehicle consists of an upgraded one person turret - originally installed on the Volgograd Tractor Plant BMD-2 airborne assault vehicle (AAV) - that is integrated onto a new light-tracked platform developed by Minotor-Service.

The turret retains its 30 mm 2A42 dual-feed cannon and a 7.62 mm PKTM co-axial machine gun (MG). A total of 300 rounds of 30 mm ammunition and 2,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition are carried.

Mounted on the right side of the turret is a pod of two KBP Instrument Design Bureau Kornet-EM laser guided anti-tank missiles; this is coupled to what the company describes as "an automated day/night sight" that is mounted on top of the turret on the left side.

The Kornet-EM missile can be supplied fitted with a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead to neutralize targets fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA) or a thermobaric warhead.

Only two missiles are carried in the ready-to-launch position and these have a maximum range of between 8,000 m and 10,000 m depending on the version - both have a minimum range of 150 m.

The missile pod appears to be identical to those installed on the upgraded BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) supplied to Algeria under the leadership of KBP Instrument Design Bureau.

Breeze's turret traverses through 360° and the cannon and co-axial MG can elevate from -5° to 60°; the Kornet missiles elevate from -15° to 30°.

The Breeze is being described as a multipurpose tracked chassis of all-welded steel armour, with the commander and driver at the front and the turret to their immediate rear.

It is powered by a 6-cylinder diesel engine developing 295 hp coupled to a manual transmission with eight forward and two reverse gears.

CH-146 Griffon in Operation Impact.

A CH-146 Griffon helicopter flies over an Iraqi village during Operation IMPACT in Northern Iraq on November 23, 2016.

A CH-146 Griffon helicopter flies over a river in Northern Iraq during Operation IMPACT on November 23, 2016.