8 April 2010 The road from Hell is also paved with good intentions
“Nuclear terrorism is most urgent threat
By Valerie Plame Wilson, Special to CNN
“Editor's note: Valerie Plame Wilson is a former covert CIA operations officer who now works at the Sante Fe Institute, a nonprofit science research think tank.
(CNN) -- The story of how I became a national figure in the media is widely known, but few people know what I actually did for the CIA.
I was a covert operations officer specializing in nuclear counter proliferation -- essentially, making sure the bad guys didn't get the bomb.
My job was to create and run operations that sought to peer into the procurement networks and acquisition chains of rogue nations. It was intense, tactical, creative and demanding. I believed that there was no more important work to be done.”
http://us.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/08/plame.wilson.nuclear.danger/index.html?hpt=T2
In her commentary, Ms. Wilson provides a link to Global Zero. You may wish to view the information on the organization. For your use, I’ve also included it here, along with a brief excerpt of Global Zero’s purpose statement.
“In December 2008 in Paris—in response to the growing threats of proliferation and nuclear terrorism—100 leaders from around the world launched Global Zero. They announced a plan for the phased, verified elimination of nuclear weapons, starting with deep reductions in the U.S. and Russian arsenals, to be followed by multilateral negotiations among all nuclear powers for an agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons—global zero”
http://www.globalzero.org
WWII concluded with the use of nuclear weapons against Japan by the United States. The bombs dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki are, to date, the only such devices deployed by any nation against another. These were truly terrible weapons used to bring Japan to the realization that it was defeated. There have been many arguments advanced since then that the weapons were not necessary by the time they were deployed; that we did not use nuclear weapons against the Third Reich because Germany is Caucasian but that our institutional racism allowed us to use them against Japan.
I can only speak for myself, but I believe the use of these bombs saved countless American soldiers’ lives, as well as many Japanese lives. The war with Germany was over before the first bomb was ready to use. From what I know of Harry Truman, he would have ordered such weapons to be used against Germany just as he did against Japan Racism was not a factor for Truman. He was concerned, primarily, with the lives of our service men and women. Both my parents would have been at risk had the war with either Germany or Japan continued.
I grew up in the Cold War. I recall all too well duck and cover drills. Missouri was one of the primary locations for the Minute Man solid fuel missile silo constellations. Given the lack of accuracy common to the Soviet ICBMs in those days, any exchange would have likely left central Missouri along with St. Louis, a smoking rubble field, uninhabitable for centuries. I remember a neighbor digging through the foundation of their house and into a hillside in order to build a fallout shelter. The Cuban Missile Crisis is just as frightening today, more so in fact, than it was then. I have a much greater appreciation of the risk to people during a nuclear exchange, and a more accurate awareness of how close we actually came to launching nuclear weapons.
The Cold War is essentially over. There is remaining hesitance among Russian leaders to trust us and too many of our citizens and leaders have a problem separating the USSR from Russia. We don’t need to worry about Russia throwing missiles at us over an ideological dispute. Both nations are at risk from Capitalistic excesses such as those that led to the current global recession. And both nations are subject to risk of attack by Islamic fundamentalists. Given that huge threat we should be closely allied with Russia in an attempt to limit such terrorist groups gaining control of fissile material or actual bombs.
While it is currently politically incorrect to link global terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, there are major conflicts driven by this religion-driven grouping of people willing to kill and maim in the name of a deity. There are currently on-going wars in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan as Moslems try to seize and reconstruct sectarian governments or non-Islamic theocracies. Israel is at continual risk of terrorist attack within its borders and shelling from outside its borders. Russian has been attacked many times by Chechnyan rebels who wish to leave the federation with Russia and form an Islamic nation. The U.S. has been attacked in several foreign nations and twice on our own soil by Islamic terrorists. There is an ongoing conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia for control of Islamic holy sites and for control of the future of Islam.
Pakistan is the only Islamic state that has nuclear weapons. India is the only Hindu nation to be so armed. The current great powers are:
United States. Russia (former Soviet Union), 4United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, & Israel. Under NATO nuclear weapons sharing, the United States has provided nuclear weapons for Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey to deploy and store. Canada Under NATO nuclear weapons sharing, hosted nuclear weapons until 1984. Greece Under NATO nuclear weapons sharing, hosted nuclear weapons until 2001
South Africa had nuclear weapons but claims to have disassembled them. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus had nuclear weapons while part of the USSR. Those have reportedly all been secured and are now controlled by Russia.
While the NATO weapons are under careful control, the weapons and fissile materials from the former Soviet states were much less stringently controlled and accounted for. There have been several attempts to smuggle fissile material and to buy nuclear weapons, thwarted by Russian and U.S. agents. There well may have been more that were not thwarted.
N. Korea may become desperate enough to sell a nuclear bomb to Islamic fundamentalists. Pakistan is only a coup away from having control of its weapons fall into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. The Pakistani Taliban is fully aware of the power that would afford them in the constellation of Moslem nations.
Iran protests that their nuclear programs are designed only for power production. In actuality Iran wants to supplant Pakistan as the pre-eminent Moslem state. Making their own nuclear weapons would allow them to threaten Israel and possibly attack Israel. It would also challenge Saudi Arabia for supremacy and control in the middle east. Iran wants very much to change the balance of power in the middle east and nuclear weapons will do it.
But the large nations are unlikely to attack us with nuclear weapons. The potential for obliteration is too great for most nations to chance. While Iran may convince its most rabidly anti-Israeli leaders that a strike against Israel is worth the risk, most world leaders understand that MAD can be a one way equation.
With that in mind I agree with the current weapon reduction agreement between the U.S. and Russia. There is no need to possess that many weapons between us. I don’t necessarily agree with the new nuclear weapons policy the Obama administration has developed. I consider the use of biological or chemical weapons to cause large numbers of deaths among our citizenry to be equivalent in intent to a nuclear strike. While I would prefer we not pursue a policy of nuclear first strikes, I would not publish our plans with regard to use of such weapons except to publish the facts that any NBC attack upon our armed forces, our soil, or our citizens may be met with nuclear weapons.
I prefer to keep all options open so as to not provide any arguments in favor of NBC strikes by small nations or by terrorists. I have no doubt that the various Islamic fundamentalist organizations are actively seeking fissile materials and/or nuclear weapons. While nations may appreciate the risk of attacking us and losing their existence in a nuclear response, those religious fanatics willing to seek martyrdom would welcome the ride to paradise and may well count upon our proclaimed unwillingness to use such weapons to provide refuge in hard to reach and hard to damage hideouts.
The use of Tora Bora by bin Laden made it difficult for us to bring either ground or air forces into effective play. While our best window to capture him was thrown away by Rumsfeld and Cheney in concert with the Afghani army, a small nuclear device would possibly have ended the conflict with bin Laden. The practice of sheltering in remote desert areas must not be allowed to become a certain sanctuary for enemies of the U.S. It may, at some time, become necessary to use special weapons to eliminate risk to our citizens.
I have no doubt that some of the more virulent Islamic fundamentalists will eventually penetrate our security and strike major cities and other sites. If, by using nuclear weapons I could prevent such strikes, I would be hard put to deny their use.
Ms. Plame’s efforts to limit proliferation and the existence of nuclear weapons is highly admirable. I applaud her efforts and hope her work is successful. However, the genie can never be put back into the bottle. The technology to build such weapons exists now in many places. The hard parts, the physics, has been done and published. We can never be certain that terrorists won’t be willing to pay the price necessary to attack us.
I’m all for abolishing nuclear weapons. But I sincerely want the U.S. and Russia to be the last nations or forces on this planet to possess them.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
7 April 2010 Let Saigons be by gones
7 April 2010 Let Saigons be by gones! - or who spilled the dominoes this time?
“How to Save Afghanistan From Karzai
By BING WEST
Published: April 6, 2010
IN February, the Taliban sanctuary of Marja in southern Afghanistan was attacked in the largest operation of the war. Last week, President Obama flew to Afghanistan and declared, “Our troops have pushed the Taliban out of their stronghold in Marja .... The United States of America does not quit once it starts on something.”
But what is that “something”? And, equally important, does Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, have to be a part of it?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/opinion/07west.html?th&emc=th
In 2008, during the presidential campaign, I heard commentators and others , who should have known better, describe Barak Obama’s speeches as like those of John F. Kennedy. In a phrase borrowed from another election, Obama was not and is not John F. Kennedy.
His speaking style differs markedly from Kennedy’s. He has no history of military service and little understanding of how such service shaped Kennedy’s generation, and partially shaped mine.
Obama hit the oval office with his own set of pre-conditioning stressors and refuges. He was too young to have taken part in the Civil Rights campaigns of the 1960’s. too young to have experienced the anti-VietNam political conflict that stretched the unity and civility of the nation badly. This is not to say his life has always been easy but it has been far easier for him than for earlier generations of black Americans.
There are some intersections between his administration and that of Kennedy. Among these, a war in a distant Asian nation handed down from a Republican administration. Iraq was essentially ended by Bush’s actions fixing a withdrawal date. We’ll see the increasing violence that is emerging from the election process demonstrate that Iraq is not yet ready to be a self-determined state, free from Islamic interference in civil life, or free from tribal and religious loyalties that prevent national purpose and unity from taking hold. But Iraq will have to find its own way. Obama will be wise to avoid any thought of return to U.S. return to combat roles not directed toward a full and final withdrawal.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, is Obama’s war now. Like Kennedy with VietNam, he has stirred up the ant hill that should have been left alone. He had every chance to declare our purpose there over and to end our military involvement. He let bad advice and bad diplomacy suck him into increasing our troops on the ground there and into backing an incompetent, corrupt, and unpopular civilian leader.
As the conflict deepens and U.S. KIA and WIA increase in numbers, our supposed ally, the president of Afghanistan, has chosen to become less our ally and more our problem. He realizes that his nation is not in favor of U.S. presence or involvement. He realizes that the Taliban’s religious fundamentalism has been successfully arrayed against him and will never support his role as president of a nation that will never be a unified nation. And he realizes that his life is in serious jeopardy as a result of his alliance with the U.S. so that he could rise to power and enrich himself at our expense.
Like every other warlord, dictator, or proxy ruler we’ve backed against a populist movement, we’ve painted a large bull’s eye on the forehead of Mohammed Karzai. It is only a matter of time until he is removed from office by violence if he continues to stay in office with our backing.
Recall the long series of U.S.-backed presidents/dictators who occupied the official palace in Saigon. We would essentially back any strongman who could push his way to the top of the heap and swear to oppose the communists who controlled N. VietNam. We’d not only back them; we’d funnel obscene amounts of money into their official state treasuries so that they could withdraw whatever amounts they felt they needed to pay their private armies and/or air forces; support their legal dragon ladies and many mistresses in appropriate style; and suppress any opposing political or religious groups that might want either their turn in power, or, better living conditions for the poor citizens of S. VietNam.
Where Diem, our long-time proxy in S, VietNam had Buddhists to suppress; Karzai has the Moslem Taliban to blame for problems. While Diem replaced by a long train of generals and marshals, Karzai has a long list of warlords just waiting to topple him and replace him. The apparent similarities of Afghanistan and VietNam have already made the term “quagmire” a common descriptor for the Afghani war. And, in truth, we are simply the latest modern power to try to produce a modern and workable state out of the vast desert that is Afghanistan. If the master colonization system that was England could not subdue the warlords, are we, not intent on colonization, likely to succeed? If the massive and brutal Soviet army could not beat Afghanistan into a client nation, how can the U.S., intent upon not injuring civilians, wage an effective and victorious war?
The U.S. lacks the willingness to suppress local culture and religion, the brutality necessary to discourage attacks upon our forces by irregulars, and it lacks the national purpose to put up with corruption and duplicity in a proxy state’s leadership at a time when our own economic ills demand better use of military and diplomatic dollars. It is only a matter of time until Karzai steps down out of fear, is told to step down by our government, or is removed forcibly by the Taliban or local warlords. We may have another puppet waiting in the wings but we don’t have an Afghan army waiting because Karzai never had to build one. We supplied his ground and air support and paid his army-in-training. Both he and it have failed us. His forces prevented the capture or killing of bin Laden at Tora Bora. That target was our primary reason to put troops in Afghanistan. We have no other reason to be there.
We will not defeat the Taliban just as we did not defeat the Viet Minh. We will not dictate the form or construction of Kabul’s rulers just as we did not dictate that of the former Saigon. And we cannot pour enough troops and equipment into Afghanistan to defeat Islamic fundamentalism just as we could not defeat Vietnamese nationalism.
Karzai is going to fall. It is only a matter of time. When he does, we will look all the more foolish and ineffective as diplomats and soldiers. It will be the end of any hope of a definable victory in Afghanistan. So I propose we bring the troops back to an interdiction base, process them and our equipment for the long trip home. Then we can either topple Karzai on our own or wait for some of the locals to do the job for us. Either way, all it will take is a little shove or we can sit back while the dominoes fall again.
“How to Save Afghanistan From Karzai
By BING WEST
Published: April 6, 2010
IN February, the Taliban sanctuary of Marja in southern Afghanistan was attacked in the largest operation of the war. Last week, President Obama flew to Afghanistan and declared, “Our troops have pushed the Taliban out of their stronghold in Marja .... The United States of America does not quit once it starts on something.”
But what is that “something”? And, equally important, does Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, have to be a part of it?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/opinion/07west.html?th&emc=th
In 2008, during the presidential campaign, I heard commentators and others , who should have known better, describe Barak Obama’s speeches as like those of John F. Kennedy. In a phrase borrowed from another election, Obama was not and is not John F. Kennedy.
His speaking style differs markedly from Kennedy’s. He has no history of military service and little understanding of how such service shaped Kennedy’s generation, and partially shaped mine.
Obama hit the oval office with his own set of pre-conditioning stressors and refuges. He was too young to have taken part in the Civil Rights campaigns of the 1960’s. too young to have experienced the anti-VietNam political conflict that stretched the unity and civility of the nation badly. This is not to say his life has always been easy but it has been far easier for him than for earlier generations of black Americans.
There are some intersections between his administration and that of Kennedy. Among these, a war in a distant Asian nation handed down from a Republican administration. Iraq was essentially ended by Bush’s actions fixing a withdrawal date. We’ll see the increasing violence that is emerging from the election process demonstrate that Iraq is not yet ready to be a self-determined state, free from Islamic interference in civil life, or free from tribal and religious loyalties that prevent national purpose and unity from taking hold. But Iraq will have to find its own way. Obama will be wise to avoid any thought of return to U.S. return to combat roles not directed toward a full and final withdrawal.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, is Obama’s war now. Like Kennedy with VietNam, he has stirred up the ant hill that should have been left alone. He had every chance to declare our purpose there over and to end our military involvement. He let bad advice and bad diplomacy suck him into increasing our troops on the ground there and into backing an incompetent, corrupt, and unpopular civilian leader.
As the conflict deepens and U.S. KIA and WIA increase in numbers, our supposed ally, the president of Afghanistan, has chosen to become less our ally and more our problem. He realizes that his nation is not in favor of U.S. presence or involvement. He realizes that the Taliban’s religious fundamentalism has been successfully arrayed against him and will never support his role as president of a nation that will never be a unified nation. And he realizes that his life is in serious jeopardy as a result of his alliance with the U.S. so that he could rise to power and enrich himself at our expense.
Like every other warlord, dictator, or proxy ruler we’ve backed against a populist movement, we’ve painted a large bull’s eye on the forehead of Mohammed Karzai. It is only a matter of time until he is removed from office by violence if he continues to stay in office with our backing.
Recall the long series of U.S.-backed presidents/dictators who occupied the official palace in Saigon. We would essentially back any strongman who could push his way to the top of the heap and swear to oppose the communists who controlled N. VietNam. We’d not only back them; we’d funnel obscene amounts of money into their official state treasuries so that they could withdraw whatever amounts they felt they needed to pay their private armies and/or air forces; support their legal dragon ladies and many mistresses in appropriate style; and suppress any opposing political or religious groups that might want either their turn in power, or, better living conditions for the poor citizens of S. VietNam.
Where Diem, our long-time proxy in S, VietNam had Buddhists to suppress; Karzai has the Moslem Taliban to blame for problems. While Diem replaced by a long train of generals and marshals, Karzai has a long list of warlords just waiting to topple him and replace him. The apparent similarities of Afghanistan and VietNam have already made the term “quagmire” a common descriptor for the Afghani war. And, in truth, we are simply the latest modern power to try to produce a modern and workable state out of the vast desert that is Afghanistan. If the master colonization system that was England could not subdue the warlords, are we, not intent on colonization, likely to succeed? If the massive and brutal Soviet army could not beat Afghanistan into a client nation, how can the U.S., intent upon not injuring civilians, wage an effective and victorious war?
The U.S. lacks the willingness to suppress local culture and religion, the brutality necessary to discourage attacks upon our forces by irregulars, and it lacks the national purpose to put up with corruption and duplicity in a proxy state’s leadership at a time when our own economic ills demand better use of military and diplomatic dollars. It is only a matter of time until Karzai steps down out of fear, is told to step down by our government, or is removed forcibly by the Taliban or local warlords. We may have another puppet waiting in the wings but we don’t have an Afghan army waiting because Karzai never had to build one. We supplied his ground and air support and paid his army-in-training. Both he and it have failed us. His forces prevented the capture or killing of bin Laden at Tora Bora. That target was our primary reason to put troops in Afghanistan. We have no other reason to be there.
We will not defeat the Taliban just as we did not defeat the Viet Minh. We will not dictate the form or construction of Kabul’s rulers just as we did not dictate that of the former Saigon. And we cannot pour enough troops and equipment into Afghanistan to defeat Islamic fundamentalism just as we could not defeat Vietnamese nationalism.
Karzai is going to fall. It is only a matter of time. When he does, we will look all the more foolish and ineffective as diplomats and soldiers. It will be the end of any hope of a definable victory in Afghanistan. So I propose we bring the troops back to an interdiction base, process them and our equipment for the long trip home. Then we can either topple Karzai on our own or wait for some of the locals to do the job for us. Either way, all it will take is a little shove or we can sit back while the dominoes fall again.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
6 April 2010 One good thing about sailing ships
6 April 2010 One good thing about sailing ships
They have convenient masts and spars for dealing with pirates.
“Pirates captured the South Korean tanker Sunday about 690 miles (1,111 km) north of the Somali coast. News of the attack came as the Combined Maritime Forces -- a cooperative effort by several countries to patrol international waters -- warned that pirates in the Somali basin and Gulf of Aden are venturing farther from home waters to target commercial vessels.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/06/somalia.tanker.hijacked/index.html?hpt=T2
One of the first international problems which President Obama has had to deal with was the hijacking of a U.S. flagged cargo vessel Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping of its crew by Somali pirates. Despite GOP and other opinion that Obama would be soft on piracy, he authorized a SEAL team to kill the pirates and free the ship and crew.
Last week a pirate skiff chose to attack a U.S. Navy frigate. I fail to understand how the skiff’s occupants believed that they could attack and capture a U.S. man-of-war. Their skiff and their mother vessel were both destroyed. Our navy rescued the pirates from drowning and they will be delivered for trial.
Piracy has always been a problem in the Indian Ocean. With every successful hijacking the risk to commercial vessels becomes greater. The current practice of rescuing any pirates defeated by naval vessels on patrol in Somali and surrounding waters removes one of the major reasons to avoid becoming a pirate. In previous times, naval vessels were authorized to try and condemn any pirates captured in the act, and to carry out the appropriate sentence immediately. While such harsh punishment did not stop piracy, it did prevent some pirates from repeating their crimes.
Today’s current rules of engagement allow failed or foiled pirates to return to their home or their base of operations without fear of reprisal or severe punishment. Many of those apprehended and brought to trial receive only the lightest of punishment, limited incarceration. Others are simply released by local courts. The immense fortunes to be made by demanding ransom for captured sailors and captured ships by far overshadows any fear of punishment for today’s IO pirates.
In my opinion, it is time to return to the practice of gun deck courts-martial for those captured committing piracy. There is no reason that ships under attack can’t video tape at least some part of the attack so as to provide evidence for courts-martial. Such tapes, along with facial recognition software could be used by the various naval vessels assigned to anti-piracy task groups. While many people may object to harsh and final sentences for pirates, there is no reason to treat them any other way. They place commercial and naval vessels and their crews in jeopardy, run great risk of polluting large areas of ocean if they penetrate the hull plates of their targets and spill oil or other toxic materials into the ocean. There is no redeeming social value to piracy and no reason to preserve the lives of anyone caught in the act.
It is also time for the major navies of the world to implement a convoy system in order to protect private and commercial vessels and their crews from harm. Those areas deemed high risk for piracy should be blockaded and traffic allowed through only under naval escort. Such action will be expensive, require international naval cooperation, and will not be popular with commercial cargo fleets. Since the frequency of piracy in Somali waters is increasing and the threat of harm to individuals is also increasing, it is time to realize that the civilized world is at war with the pirates of the Somali waters. This is not a war with Somalia, but with pirates, men who have abandoned civilization for private gain, and who are now citizens of no nation. As such, they have no right to plea for help or compassion when they are captured.
Naval vessels in WWII often painted symbols on their hulls indicating how many enemy ships they had sunk. It may be time for modern naval craft to paint hangman’s nooses on their hulls.
They have convenient masts and spars for dealing with pirates.
“Pirates captured the South Korean tanker Sunday about 690 miles (1,111 km) north of the Somali coast. News of the attack came as the Combined Maritime Forces -- a cooperative effort by several countries to patrol international waters -- warned that pirates in the Somali basin and Gulf of Aden are venturing farther from home waters to target commercial vessels.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/06/somalia.tanker.hijacked/index.html?hpt=T2
One of the first international problems which President Obama has had to deal with was the hijacking of a U.S. flagged cargo vessel Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping of its crew by Somali pirates. Despite GOP and other opinion that Obama would be soft on piracy, he authorized a SEAL team to kill the pirates and free the ship and crew.
Last week a pirate skiff chose to attack a U.S. Navy frigate. I fail to understand how the skiff’s occupants believed that they could attack and capture a U.S. man-of-war. Their skiff and their mother vessel were both destroyed. Our navy rescued the pirates from drowning and they will be delivered for trial.
Piracy has always been a problem in the Indian Ocean. With every successful hijacking the risk to commercial vessels becomes greater. The current practice of rescuing any pirates defeated by naval vessels on patrol in Somali and surrounding waters removes one of the major reasons to avoid becoming a pirate. In previous times, naval vessels were authorized to try and condemn any pirates captured in the act, and to carry out the appropriate sentence immediately. While such harsh punishment did not stop piracy, it did prevent some pirates from repeating their crimes.
Today’s current rules of engagement allow failed or foiled pirates to return to their home or their base of operations without fear of reprisal or severe punishment. Many of those apprehended and brought to trial receive only the lightest of punishment, limited incarceration. Others are simply released by local courts. The immense fortunes to be made by demanding ransom for captured sailors and captured ships by far overshadows any fear of punishment for today’s IO pirates.
In my opinion, it is time to return to the practice of gun deck courts-martial for those captured committing piracy. There is no reason that ships under attack can’t video tape at least some part of the attack so as to provide evidence for courts-martial. Such tapes, along with facial recognition software could be used by the various naval vessels assigned to anti-piracy task groups. While many people may object to harsh and final sentences for pirates, there is no reason to treat them any other way. They place commercial and naval vessels and their crews in jeopardy, run great risk of polluting large areas of ocean if they penetrate the hull plates of their targets and spill oil or other toxic materials into the ocean. There is no redeeming social value to piracy and no reason to preserve the lives of anyone caught in the act.
It is also time for the major navies of the world to implement a convoy system in order to protect private and commercial vessels and their crews from harm. Those areas deemed high risk for piracy should be blockaded and traffic allowed through only under naval escort. Such action will be expensive, require international naval cooperation, and will not be popular with commercial cargo fleets. Since the frequency of piracy in Somali waters is increasing and the threat of harm to individuals is also increasing, it is time to realize that the civilized world is at war with the pirates of the Somali waters. This is not a war with Somalia, but with pirates, men who have abandoned civilization for private gain, and who are now citizens of no nation. As such, they have no right to plea for help or compassion when they are captured.
Naval vessels in WWII often painted symbols on their hulls indicating how many enemy ships they had sunk. It may be time for modern naval craft to paint hangman’s nooses on their hulls.
Monday, April 5, 2010
5 April 2010 April, come she will
5 April 2010 April, come she will
The lyric to a Simon and Garfunkel song from the late 1960’s elbows its way into my consciousness this morning.
Seemingly overnight the ground has changed from muddy brown to a velvet-looking green, a color and apparent texture only present in the early spring. It brings promise of wild flowers and crops growing in rows in dark, rich bottom land and flood plains. The trees have rocketed past the fuzzy, hazy, light gray-green into brightly colored flowering towers announcing the season change.
April, however, is not always the peaceful harbinger that song and poetry proclaim it. On the front range of the Rockies, in the high Sierra, the Cascades, and in the northern Appalachian ranges, April often brings heavy snows; wet, branch-breaking, roof-collapsing snows that add huge amounts of run-off to the spring floods that scour the river valleys and remind us that we don’t really control rivers.
On the prairies between the Rockies and the Appalachians, April heralds the season of whirling winds. Those lands are subject to tornadoes that drop from super cells to wipe towns off the map. They strike with warning of probable but no certain appearance. They can hit at any time of day but because of the nature of the heat engines that fuel them they often strike when it is most difficult to protect against them and most difficult to see them. The terrible blackness of a funnel cloud on the ground is magnified by the eye’s inability to pick it out from the darkness of a super-cell thunderstorm after sunset. When only the brilliant arcing from destroyed electrical transformers marks the funnel’s path, when only swirling shadows backlit by the almost continual lightning that accompanies many of the most severe storms provides any hope of spotting the actual funnels as they approach; April loses all undertones of peace and tranquility.
All too quickly the velvet softness that marks onset of April gives ground to weeds. In the Cassi Creek valley we are afflicted with Japanese knot weed. Akin to kudzu in invasiveness, inedible by anyone with a working palate, nearly impossible to destroy, April heralds the battle to prevent the hand gun range and creek access from being overgrown with the horrid stuff. It also lines the banks of the creek, from our property north to the creek’s disappearance into the dry portion of the creek bed. It’s time to break out our supply of 2,4,5,T, analogous to “Round Up” or “Agent Orange.” The temperatures at night are now warm enough to make the application effective. I dislike using herbicides, particularly when the run-off will wind up in a trout stream. But I dislike the continual need to spend a day using a string trimmer to keep the weed from surging into the area between the house and the wooded part of our land.
April is an indication that I can turn off the lamps in the filter shack and just keep an eye on the night time low predictions. That’s several thousand watts of power saved/day. It means I don’t have to spend an hour or more carrying wood, emptying ashes, and feeding the stove. April promises a lot but comes with penalties.
I have yet to find a region of the nation which does not feature some plants which dispense large amounts of pollen that I am allergic to. My immune system recognizes no pollen and little dust or hair as friendly. I’ve spent many spring months loaded with anti-histamines in order to move any air past my nose. I’ve ingested, or been injected with, enough steroids to disqualify an entire Olympic team. And I’ve spent months of sleepless nights sweating out tornado warnings, in places with no basements, no central solid room, and no local radio or television to actually provide a timely warning when one of them is headed for my neighborhood.
April has much to offer. Trout streams are open. Snow that must be shoveled is less likely. Rains, if they arrive, wash down the dust and pollen from the air. And April is only 5 months from September and the onset of autumn, my favorite season.
April has run roughshod through the minds of my fellow students. The manner of dress on campus today was often hysterical in appearance. Fashion is a joke, clothing made for women by people who hate women. Equally a joke, jail fashion for black males made even more asinine in appearance when worn by white males trying to obtain a level of “cool” that they will never obtain.
There must be a shortage of shoes. For some reason flip-flops are considered adequate foot wear. I own a pair which never leaves the house. They are not adequate protection on uneven ground, not stable footwear on steps, slanted walks or paths, or any unpaved ground. They should never be allowed on aircraft where the risk of a crash or ditching exists.
I avoid fashion. Function defines form and I know what functions I plan on carrying out. That makes it easy to avoid clothing stores, malls, strip malls, and any shopping facility that doesn’t follow my dictum in stocking its shelves.
The lyric to a Simon and Garfunkel song from the late 1960’s elbows its way into my consciousness this morning.
Seemingly overnight the ground has changed from muddy brown to a velvet-looking green, a color and apparent texture only present in the early spring. It brings promise of wild flowers and crops growing in rows in dark, rich bottom land and flood plains. The trees have rocketed past the fuzzy, hazy, light gray-green into brightly colored flowering towers announcing the season change.
April, however, is not always the peaceful harbinger that song and poetry proclaim it. On the front range of the Rockies, in the high Sierra, the Cascades, and in the northern Appalachian ranges, April often brings heavy snows; wet, branch-breaking, roof-collapsing snows that add huge amounts of run-off to the spring floods that scour the river valleys and remind us that we don’t really control rivers.
On the prairies between the Rockies and the Appalachians, April heralds the season of whirling winds. Those lands are subject to tornadoes that drop from super cells to wipe towns off the map. They strike with warning of probable but no certain appearance. They can hit at any time of day but because of the nature of the heat engines that fuel them they often strike when it is most difficult to protect against them and most difficult to see them. The terrible blackness of a funnel cloud on the ground is magnified by the eye’s inability to pick it out from the darkness of a super-cell thunderstorm after sunset. When only the brilliant arcing from destroyed electrical transformers marks the funnel’s path, when only swirling shadows backlit by the almost continual lightning that accompanies many of the most severe storms provides any hope of spotting the actual funnels as they approach; April loses all undertones of peace and tranquility.
All too quickly the velvet softness that marks onset of April gives ground to weeds. In the Cassi Creek valley we are afflicted with Japanese knot weed. Akin to kudzu in invasiveness, inedible by anyone with a working palate, nearly impossible to destroy, April heralds the battle to prevent the hand gun range and creek access from being overgrown with the horrid stuff. It also lines the banks of the creek, from our property north to the creek’s disappearance into the dry portion of the creek bed. It’s time to break out our supply of 2,4,5,T, analogous to “Round Up” or “Agent Orange.” The temperatures at night are now warm enough to make the application effective. I dislike using herbicides, particularly when the run-off will wind up in a trout stream. But I dislike the continual need to spend a day using a string trimmer to keep the weed from surging into the area between the house and the wooded part of our land.
April is an indication that I can turn off the lamps in the filter shack and just keep an eye on the night time low predictions. That’s several thousand watts of power saved/day. It means I don’t have to spend an hour or more carrying wood, emptying ashes, and feeding the stove. April promises a lot but comes with penalties.
I have yet to find a region of the nation which does not feature some plants which dispense large amounts of pollen that I am allergic to. My immune system recognizes no pollen and little dust or hair as friendly. I’ve spent many spring months loaded with anti-histamines in order to move any air past my nose. I’ve ingested, or been injected with, enough steroids to disqualify an entire Olympic team. And I’ve spent months of sleepless nights sweating out tornado warnings, in places with no basements, no central solid room, and no local radio or television to actually provide a timely warning when one of them is headed for my neighborhood.
April has much to offer. Trout streams are open. Snow that must be shoveled is less likely. Rains, if they arrive, wash down the dust and pollen from the air. And April is only 5 months from September and the onset of autumn, my favorite season.
April has run roughshod through the minds of my fellow students. The manner of dress on campus today was often hysterical in appearance. Fashion is a joke, clothing made for women by people who hate women. Equally a joke, jail fashion for black males made even more asinine in appearance when worn by white males trying to obtain a level of “cool” that they will never obtain.
There must be a shortage of shoes. For some reason flip-flops are considered adequate foot wear. I own a pair which never leaves the house. They are not adequate protection on uneven ground, not stable footwear on steps, slanted walks or paths, or any unpaved ground. They should never be allowed on aircraft where the risk of a crash or ditching exists.
I avoid fashion. Function defines form and I know what functions I plan on carrying out. That makes it easy to avoid clothing stores, malls, strip malls, and any shopping facility that doesn’t follow my dictum in stocking its shelves.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
4 April 2010 All quiet on the Western Front
4 April 2010 All quiet on the Western Front
We returned from last night’s dance expecting to see some sort of party on the field/dirt track across the road. We were pleasantly surprised to find it empty of revelry and revelers.
We planned on having dinner last night at Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. It is slightly larger and somewhat less expensive than The Dining Room, where we have been making reservations for dinner on dance Saturdays. We rode into town listening to Leonard Cohen and parked across the street from our target restaurant.
We walked in, expecting no problems and discovered that every table not already occupied was reserved. The restaurant features live music on weekends and apparently reservations are essential. Our dinner plans were salvaged and altered somewhat when another couple invited us to join them. Their plans were altered when the companion couple they had planned on dining with canceled.
We accepted, gratefully, and shared a nice, if somewhat hurried dinner. The Wards are approximately our age and retired. They like the band that was playing last night enough to see them whenever they play locally. Random acts of kindness happen when least expected.
After returning home, last night was, thankfully, uneventful. Gloria is finishing a class project and I’m trying to catch up on reading for my classes.
Dinner tonight will be pan-grilled steak and spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms.
We returned from last night’s dance expecting to see some sort of party on the field/dirt track across the road. We were pleasantly surprised to find it empty of revelry and revelers.
We planned on having dinner last night at Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. It is slightly larger and somewhat less expensive than The Dining Room, where we have been making reservations for dinner on dance Saturdays. We rode into town listening to Leonard Cohen and parked across the street from our target restaurant.
We walked in, expecting no problems and discovered that every table not already occupied was reserved. The restaurant features live music on weekends and apparently reservations are essential. Our dinner plans were salvaged and altered somewhat when another couple invited us to join them. Their plans were altered when the companion couple they had planned on dining with canceled.
We accepted, gratefully, and shared a nice, if somewhat hurried dinner. The Wards are approximately our age and retired. They like the band that was playing last night enough to see them whenever they play locally. Random acts of kindness happen when least expected.
After returning home, last night was, thankfully, uneventful. Gloria is finishing a class project and I’m trying to catch up on reading for my classes.
Dinner tonight will be pan-grilled steak and spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
3 April 2010 neighbor, neighbor burning bryte
3 April 2010 neighbor, neighbor burning bryte
The land I thought had been bought by the previous owners was not. Instead, that parcel was purchased by a member of the Broyles family. He appears to be no more than high school senior age. He may be somewhat older in years. He has not acquired any wisdom with his years. Given his current behavior, he may never.
I met him at about 0100 this morning. After dark, we heard them arrive and begin running around in circles, revving their engines.
We went to bed about midnight last night. At 0100 I noticed the apparent reflection of flames and looked out the window. They had a huge bonfire burning and the rising wind was blowing sparks high and in all directions.
I walked up the road to see how big the fire actually was. The group actually invited me in for hot dogs and asked if they were being too noisy. I declined any hot dogs.
Noise was not my concern. They were drinking, cooking hotdogs and adding wood to the fire. The new owner told me how young people needed a place to hang out so he had bought this land. I listened more than I talked but tried to impress upon him the fire risk to surrounding homes and property. That had little effect. They had no source of water to extinguish their fire, no fire extinguisher, but apparently lots of gasoline to pour on the fire.
They were still adding fuel when I had said all that they might have listened to. Rather than become just an adult annoyance, I came back home and tried to get some sleep. At 0200 they decided to leave. That entailed each vehicle making several circles at full throttle. Their lights and their noise woke me up in time to watch them depart.
Darryl was invited to their gathering but declined, wisely, when they mentioned that some of them were underage. When I talked with him this morning he said that someone had put more wood on the still smoldering fire and then left. He also said that they were throwing gasoline onto the fire directly from their gas cans. It is not hard to imagine a dropped can spilling a gallon or more of gasoline into a fire, catching the field on fire. It is not at all hard to imagine them splashing someone with gasoline, resulting in serious burns.
They have quite a bit of wood piled up next to their fire, one assumes for tonight. I asked Darryl to watch their fire and to let me know if it flares up. This is going to require some action. How do we impress upon teen agers and twenty year olds that we will notify public safety offices about fires left untended or allowed to grow too big? And how do we make them aware that they have to take responsibility in this matter? This is going to be a problem, hopefully one which we can resolve in a friendly manner; but one that must be resolved quickly.
Tonight is Saturday night. Noise may become a bigger concern tonight.
The land I thought had been bought by the previous owners was not. Instead, that parcel was purchased by a member of the Broyles family. He appears to be no more than high school senior age. He may be somewhat older in years. He has not acquired any wisdom with his years. Given his current behavior, he may never.
I met him at about 0100 this morning. After dark, we heard them arrive and begin running around in circles, revving their engines.
We went to bed about midnight last night. At 0100 I noticed the apparent reflection of flames and looked out the window. They had a huge bonfire burning and the rising wind was blowing sparks high and in all directions.
I walked up the road to see how big the fire actually was. The group actually invited me in for hot dogs and asked if they were being too noisy. I declined any hot dogs.
Noise was not my concern. They were drinking, cooking hotdogs and adding wood to the fire. The new owner told me how young people needed a place to hang out so he had bought this land. I listened more than I talked but tried to impress upon him the fire risk to surrounding homes and property. That had little effect. They had no source of water to extinguish their fire, no fire extinguisher, but apparently lots of gasoline to pour on the fire.
They were still adding fuel when I had said all that they might have listened to. Rather than become just an adult annoyance, I came back home and tried to get some sleep. At 0200 they decided to leave. That entailed each vehicle making several circles at full throttle. Their lights and their noise woke me up in time to watch them depart.
Darryl was invited to their gathering but declined, wisely, when they mentioned that some of them were underage. When I talked with him this morning he said that someone had put more wood on the still smoldering fire and then left. He also said that they were throwing gasoline onto the fire directly from their gas cans. It is not hard to imagine a dropped can spilling a gallon or more of gasoline into a fire, catching the field on fire. It is not at all hard to imagine them splashing someone with gasoline, resulting in serious burns.
They have quite a bit of wood piled up next to their fire, one assumes for tonight. I asked Darryl to watch their fire and to let me know if it flares up. This is going to require some action. How do we impress upon teen agers and twenty year olds that we will notify public safety offices about fires left untended or allowed to grow too big? And how do we make them aware that they have to take responsibility in this matter? This is going to be a problem, hopefully one which we can resolve in a friendly manner; but one that must be resolved quickly.
Tonight is Saturday night. Noise may become a bigger concern tonight.
Friday, April 2, 2010
2 April 2010 The wheels go round and round. Or: No one here needs a map
2 April 2010 The wheels go round and round. Or: No one here needs a map
Today is a beautiful sunny day with temperatures at record highs. Forecast to reach 83°F, our outdoor thermometer reports 88.3°F at 1333.
Mike our downstream neighbor, is back from a business trip and hikes have resumed in the mornings. Since today is a university holiday I had no classes this morning. Mike is building a shooting bench to use on a 100 yard range he wants to clear. I’ll have enough to do just keeping the knotweed beaten back on our 25 meter range.
The less than good neighbor across the road sold two parcels of his field that faces our home. Wednesday we met the new neighbor who bought the smaller parcel. Daryl Simon is originally from Michigan, seems to be a nice person looking for a place to live quietly. He’s already started laying out the forms for a garage and is hoping to build an earth-sheltered home on the western valley wall. Both Gloria and I think he will be a good neighbor. Other than to warn him that the less than good neighbor’s dogs will carry things off, we’ve refrained from mentioning anything else about him to Daryl. I suspect he’s already made some valid first impressions. I’ve told him I will answer questions truthfully. He has the luxury of asking.
I think we were lucky that he bought the land. It will be interesting getting to know him.
The other parcel of land, up valley/south of Darryl’s, seems to have been bought by the Rogers family. If what we have been told is correct, the family previously owned it.
A week ago Saturday night we heard the noise of a truck or car being revved repeatedly and driven a full throttle. Looking outside, we could see the lights of one vehicle going around in circles. Our major concern at that time was that we hoped the driver didn’t miscalculate and drive down the hillside onto our property. That would have likely damaged our trees and their vehicle. Since they most likely weren’t wearing seat belts, occupant injury would be likely as well. After about half an hour they left. It seemed to be one of those situations where the first law is “mind your own business.” We didn’t know that the property had been sold and, quite honestly, thought that the not so good neighbor or his spawn had angered someone again and that this was some sort of revenge.
The next day, two vehicles started driving in circles on the same property. A blue mini-pickup and a blue trans-am typed vehicle spent nearly an hour running in circles. We simply observed. Wednesday, Daryl told us the other parcel had been sold. So it appears that the Rogers boys have a new playground. At 1300 today they were once again driving in circles on ground that would be productive cropland if used appropriately. I don’t think it will be farmed this year. But it most likely will be damaged by repeated visits from the new owners as they pretend they are dirt track or NASCAR drivers.
It will only be a matter of time before they break an axle of tear the oil pan off one or more vehicles. The vehicles they have been using are not off-road vehicles but could easily be flipped if turned to sharply at too great a speed. Not my problem, of course, but the noise could become annoying and have to be dealt with.
I have no idea why anyone would think driving in a continual counter-clockwise circle, repeatedly revving a motor is fun. Fortunately, I don’t have to learn. It is a good thing that Daryl bought the parcel nearer to us. He’s most likely to be a much more considerate and quiet neighbor.
Shabbat Shalom!
Today is a beautiful sunny day with temperatures at record highs. Forecast to reach 83°F, our outdoor thermometer reports 88.3°F at 1333.
Mike our downstream neighbor, is back from a business trip and hikes have resumed in the mornings. Since today is a university holiday I had no classes this morning. Mike is building a shooting bench to use on a 100 yard range he wants to clear. I’ll have enough to do just keeping the knotweed beaten back on our 25 meter range.
The less than good neighbor across the road sold two parcels of his field that faces our home. Wednesday we met the new neighbor who bought the smaller parcel. Daryl Simon is originally from Michigan, seems to be a nice person looking for a place to live quietly. He’s already started laying out the forms for a garage and is hoping to build an earth-sheltered home on the western valley wall. Both Gloria and I think he will be a good neighbor. Other than to warn him that the less than good neighbor’s dogs will carry things off, we’ve refrained from mentioning anything else about him to Daryl. I suspect he’s already made some valid first impressions. I’ve told him I will answer questions truthfully. He has the luxury of asking.
I think we were lucky that he bought the land. It will be interesting getting to know him.
The other parcel of land, up valley/south of Darryl’s, seems to have been bought by the Rogers family. If what we have been told is correct, the family previously owned it.
A week ago Saturday night we heard the noise of a truck or car being revved repeatedly and driven a full throttle. Looking outside, we could see the lights of one vehicle going around in circles. Our major concern at that time was that we hoped the driver didn’t miscalculate and drive down the hillside onto our property. That would have likely damaged our trees and their vehicle. Since they most likely weren’t wearing seat belts, occupant injury would be likely as well. After about half an hour they left. It seemed to be one of those situations where the first law is “mind your own business.” We didn’t know that the property had been sold and, quite honestly, thought that the not so good neighbor or his spawn had angered someone again and that this was some sort of revenge.
The next day, two vehicles started driving in circles on the same property. A blue mini-pickup and a blue trans-am typed vehicle spent nearly an hour running in circles. We simply observed. Wednesday, Daryl told us the other parcel had been sold. So it appears that the Rogers boys have a new playground. At 1300 today they were once again driving in circles on ground that would be productive cropland if used appropriately. I don’t think it will be farmed this year. But it most likely will be damaged by repeated visits from the new owners as they pretend they are dirt track or NASCAR drivers.
It will only be a matter of time before they break an axle of tear the oil pan off one or more vehicles. The vehicles they have been using are not off-road vehicles but could easily be flipped if turned to sharply at too great a speed. Not my problem, of course, but the noise could become annoying and have to be dealt with.
I have no idea why anyone would think driving in a continual counter-clockwise circle, repeatedly revving a motor is fun. Fortunately, I don’t have to learn. It is a good thing that Daryl bought the parcel nearer to us. He’s most likely to be a much more considerate and quiet neighbor.
Shabbat Shalom!
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