Saturday, August 30, 2014

Saudi Arabia is scared of ISIS.


via The Daily Caller.
Saudi Arabia’s head of state King Abdullah issued a dire warning to the West if they choose to ignore the Muslim extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,” Abdullah said at a Friday diplomatic ceremony and later quoted by Saudi television.
“Terrorism knows no border and its danger could affect several countries outside the Middle East,” he continued. “You see how they [jihadists] carry out beheadings and make children show the severed heads in the street.”
“It is no secret to you, what they have done and what they have yet to do. I ask you to transmit this message to your leaders: ‘Fight terrorism with force, reason and [necessary] speed’,” he declared, according to an Agence France Press report.
Forgive the tinfoil hat I have on but....

Isn't it funny that as soon as we get out of the Middle East, the American people are fed up with this "freeing masses of people that won't free themselves", and getting our (on certain projects) outrageous defense spending under control....Another threat pops up that we MUST deal with?

I think the lunatics in ISIS need to be killed...the bellies ripped out so they can feed the catfish....but the idea that they will be in Europe in a month?  In the US in two?

Not freaking likely.  Oh and don't give me the "they're already here, just look at the Westerners that have gone to fight with them routine" either.  Unless the NSA, FBI, MI-6 and other agencies are idiots then those people are being tracked and I imagine worse.

I think we're all getting played.  The industrial defense complex needs to be fed and ISIS is the meal ticket. 

Sidenote:  Lets get another thing straight.  The monarchy in Saudi Arabia is under far more threat than we are.  They're scared shitless, and to me this statement proves it.

Blast from the past. WHAT’S WRONG With Uncle Sam’s Navy? (May, 1934)

via Modern Mechanix.
Geez!

I wonder if this guy is related to Cdr Salamander?  Anyway, its a fascinating read and while things aren't as bad today, the similarities are striking.  Read it all here.

MALUS AMPHEX 14....photos by Sgt. Melissa Wenger



New Russia?

Thanks for the link Joe!


Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday publicly addressed pro-Russian rebels fighting in southeastern Ukraine for the first time , praising their "major success" inside Ukraine.
The Kremlin released a late-night statement from Putin on its website in which he appealed to the militia of "Novorossyia," or "New Russia."
It's a term he has used before to describe the regions in eastern Ukraine where fighting has raged for months — a term that describes the area north of the Black Sea that was conquered by Russia in the late 18th century through peace treaties with the Cossack Hetmanate and the Ottoman Empire. In 1922, the area became part of the Soviet Union. The term is mostly used now by Russian nationalists who wish for Russia to reconquer the area.

" It is clear the militia has achieved a major success in intercepting Kiev’s military operation, which represents a grave danger to the population of Donbass and which has already led to the loss of many lives among peaceful residents," Putin said in his statement to the militia.
Uh wow.

I really don't know what to say about this one.  Follow the link and read the whole story.  The EU, NATO, the US and Europe in general has just been put on notice.  Forget my earlier posting....SHIT JUST GOT REAL!

Putin is playing for blood. 

Russia is now saber rattling Finland!

Thanks for the link Joe!

photo via Vox

via Vox
This is a photograph of an AN-27 Russian military transport aircraft. Which wouldn't be so extraordinary, except that the air force of Finland says they took the photo while the Russian plane was in Finnish airspace. Even that wouldn't necessarily be so extraordinary, except the Finns say it was "the third event of its kind within a one-week period." And even that you might write off as just one of these things, except that Russia also invaded Ukraine this week so it's kind of hard to see it all as a big coincidence.
I personally don't see this as a big deal, but of course I could easily be wrong.  Stuff is heating up in Europe and the Russians would be a fool to not keep an eye on all of its neighbors---as they're keeping an eye on Russia.

On a sidenote, I wonder exactly how valuable NATO membership really is.  The organization is at best a quasi-political one that masquerades as a military grouping.  Its shelf life has expired long ago and what would impress me more is individual mutual aid pacts between countries.  For example an agreement by the Brits to defend Poland, Estonia and Romania instead of NATO membership would seem to carry more weight, less complications and be more effective than the nonsense we have now. 

F-35 News. Engine deliveries halted.

Thanks William for the link!

via Bloomberg.
Delivery of engines was halted in May after an in-house inspection and testing process “raised questions about the origin” of the titanium, spokesman Matthew Bates said in an e-mailed statement. The company replaced all the suspect engine parts in its inventory for failing to meet specifications, but determined that the metal in 147 F-35 engines already delivered didn’t pose a flight-safety risk, he said.
WOW!  Really?  Seriously?  It gets better, this is another passage from the same article (read it all)...
The Pentagon’s F-35 program office said in a statement that Pratt & Whitney’s “persistent problems stem from the supply chain” because 80 percent of the engine is produced by many different subcontractors.
I've had major issues with the way that the F-35 program is setup.  Too many contractors in too many countries!  How they expect to make a profit with a business model like the one the program office is using is beyond me, yet supporters continue to talk about how the cost curve is coming down.

This article points in the opposite direction.