Forevergrey's Evil LiveJournal Device Thing

Oh look, PRODUCTIVITY!

2007-07-16T05:29:36Z

So the leaders of men conceived of their most desperate strategy yet.

THIS JOURNAL HAS BEEN FINAL SOLUTIONED

Not really. But now I'm finally getting the ball rolling on a number of hidden agendas, and remembered I still have this little corner of the internets, so I'll be making use of it. Over the next week or so I’ll be tossing out the shit (most entries) and categorising anything that’s actually of interest (not much). I’ll also be retiring my beloved ‘Hello World’ banner entry, to be replaced with something more appropriate.

This is serious blogs after all.

For the most part I’ll be using this as a project blog henceforth, so don’t expect any angsty, self-reflective posts or photos of any potential candygoth raver phases. Really, don’t hold out on that one.

Fuck Socialism.

2007-04-26T07:52:34Z

I spent 20 straight hours (maybe 10 of those actually researching or working) to produce a term essay in a single day. I'm well aware of how rough and biased it is, but honestly, I've seen the competition and I'm sure I'll do better than half my tutorial group with this one.

The aim of this paper is to answer the question “Is social liberalism really the same as liberalism?” In order to answer this question, the paper will delve into several divergences between the theories of liberalism and social liberalism to create a comparative outline between the two theories and highlight their critical differences.

As the term ‘liberalism’ in modern usage is much used and misused as a term to define a broad range of political ideologies spring boarding from liberalism’s historical emergence, this paper limits the term ‘liberalism’ to represent the forms of classic liberalism, neoclassical liberalism and libertarianism that adheres to the concept of negative liberty. Likewise this paper limits the term ‘social liberalism’ to such theories as socialism, social liberalism and welfare liberalism, theories that adhere to the concept of positive liberty.

This paper will argue that social liberalism is a radically different theory in both concept and practice from liberalism. The question that this paper confronts suggests differences between the two trivial; this paper seeks to inform the reader of the vast gulf that truly exists between them. To reduce ambiguity this paper will refer to liberalism as classic liberalism when directly contrasted against social liberalism.

This paper will briefly describe the origin, core values and implementation of each theory in society. Then this paper will illustrate the disparate approaches social and classic Liberalism take toward a selection of real world issues such as firearm politics, recreational drug use and homosexuality.
The focus on liberty as an essential right has been asserted throughout history; however the emergence of the modern incarnation of liberalism were seen in such movements as self-government in colonial America. Drawing heavily from the works of John Locke, specifically ‘Two Treatises on Government’, the liberalism movement was centred on the conception that free individuals could form the foundation for a stable society. Locke’s work established two fundamental liberal ideas: economic liberty and intellectual liberty. (1)
Emerging from a period in Europe where it was commonplace for an individual’s very body to be held as property of the state, the concept of the right to have and use property was highly radical in itself, let alone the right to express one’s opinions without fear of censure or punishment.
Throughout this period and beyond many individually famous historical figures expanded upon the idea that every man had the basic right to "life, liberty and property". Adam Smith, in “The Wealth of Nations” applied liberal theory to economics, first outlining the principles of free trade that has evolved into capitalism. Smith also expounded one of the main points used by classic liberalists in asserting the superiority of laissez-faire capitalism over all other economic systems.
The modern concept of trade, that of the mutually-benefiting exchange was introduced by Smith, stating "a voluntary, informed transaction always benefits both parties.” (2) The term capitalism did not exist in that period instead Smith labelled the process a "system of natural liberty".
With the works of Karl Marx and later socialist and communist intellectuals the concept of social liberalism arose, placing caveats and restrictions on the core ideals of liberalism. The general ascertain, though the specifics were as differentiated as there were differing authors, was that while an individual was entitled to freedom as a basic right, that freedom needed certain curtailing for the good of society as a whole. An individual while ‘free’ was required to sacrifice a certain amount of time, money, and/or property to the government, for the greater good, common goal or societal need. Indeed, the individual was expected to view this as a necessary and happy task, as this would allow him free access to the labour of others. (3)
Liberalism or classic liberalism however, does not seek to impose or enforce any arbitrary goals or lifestyle choices upon the citizen. The role of government in a liberal society is singular, to seek to guarantee the rights of the individual. The rights under a classic liberal government are: Free choice in all things, both personal and business that are consensual. As such, an individual is free to do whatever one pleases as long as it does not encroach on the liberty of another individual. All consensual agreements are permissible, only when an issue arises that involves the non-consensual imposition upon another does the state have the authority to interfere, lest the state establish a bloated and authoritarian monopoly. (4)

Thus emerges the chief difference between social and classical liberalism, the concepts of negative and positive liberty. Negative liberty refers to an individual's liberty from being subjected to the authority of others. The individual is considered free to the extent to which no person interferes with his or her activity. "A free man is he that... is not hindered to do what he hath the will to do." Thomas Hobbes. (5)

Negative liberty is based on mutual consent and the idea that every aspect of an individual is property. (6)An individual is the sole owner of his or her body, life and mind for example. Thus the only crimes are theft and fraud, murder is the theft of an individual’s life as opposed to euthanasia, the consensual taking of a life. Rape is theft, the non-consensual use of an individual’s body (property), as opposed to sex, the mutual act of intercourse. (1)

Fraud is the obtaining or use of another’s property under false pretences. Taxation, a core element of positive liberty is seen as the non-consensual removal of an individual’s property, and therefore theft or alternatively fraud, as historically the reasons an individual is given for his taxation is at dire odds with the purpose the money collected is actually used for.

Positive liberty, the basis of social liberalism, initially appears similar, but allows for a raft of enforced institutions and legal restrictions impossible under a classic liberalist state. Positive liberty is seen as the opportunity and ability for the individual to act to fulfil one's own potential. In effect, the individual is coerced into adhering to various conventions in order to have a lifestyle that complies with an enforced societal outlook. Negative liberty by comparison aims for the very freedom from coercion that positive liberty imposes.

In coining the phrase, philosopher Isaiah Berlin was quick to express a deeply suspicious outlook upon positive liberty. Berlin asserted that the pursuit of positive liberty could lead to a situation where the state forced upon the individual a certain way of life, because the state judged that it was the most rational course of action, and therefore, was what an individual should rationally desire, whether or not the individual did in fact desire such. (7)

The process of transition from classic to social liberalism is markedly evident in the history of the United States of America. Founded on a constitution that is very much the incarnation of classic liberal ideas, the USA has through the course of it’s history moved increasingly towards socialist ideals, most notably the introduction of higher taxation and welfare statism under Franklin D Roosevelt during the post WW2 period under the ‘New Deal’ (8). Many current policies such as firearm control, drug prohibition and anti-homosexual legislation are more than arguably directly contradictory to the very constitution the nation is founded on. (9)

This paper, by examining such issues aims to further highlight the gulf of difference between positive and negative freedom. Positive freedom, possessing an inherently restrictive nature allows authoritarian states such as Venezuela and Cuba to claim the status of liberal democracies despite setting the values and goals for their citizens to adhere to, ruthlessly enforcing them.

In less authoritarian social libertarian states such as most European Union members and Australia, the state’s ability to set the positive freedoms for its citizens is restricted by popular opinion. If an incumbent party strays too far from the wishes of the electorate they’ll soon be voted out. This in itself presents a raft of problems. Unlike negative freedom, which guarantees the individual inalienable rights, the rights of the individual under social liberty are subject to popularism.

When homophobia is popular, the right to have consensual homosexual sex is likely to be curtailed. In times of moral panic, individuals are likely to be stripped of their right to bear arms or use of recreational drugs by political leaders keen to exploit public hysteria. The ever-shifting state of the ‘ideal’ that an individual should live up to under positive liberty leads to a constant flux of laws and rules of conduct under ever more Byzantine legal systems. It is noteworthy that while states are quick to strip away an individual’s rights they are typically slow and reluctant to grant them.

Unlike the fixed and guaranteed rights under classic liberalism, the transient state of rights, piggybacked upon popularism historically leads to democracies ‘voting themselves into tyranny’. Fascist states in the pre-WW2 period, communist states such as Chile and Venezuela, and tyrannies such as Zimbabwe were all former democracies that fell into authoritarianism. To the bitter end, fascist states claimed to be democratic. To this day, communist and dictatorial nations claim the same.

To conclude, this paper sought to answer the question ‘Is social liberalism really the same as liberalism?’ the answer this paper concludes with is a resounding no. Social liberalism, with its coercive yet transient nature is prone to authoritarianism, corruption and hysterical mob rule. Classic liberalism creates an inalienable set of absolute rights for the individual, and sets about the sole goal of protecting these rights from any incursion. The difference is not insignificant, nor the systems compatible. There is either liberalism, or an ever fluctuating degree of social liberalism.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington

Annotated Bibliography

1: Locke, John. (1689) Man being born, as has been proved, with a title to perfect freedom … to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty and estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men; Two Treatises of Government.

2: Smith, Adam. (1776) a voluntary, informed transaction always benefits both parties; An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

3: Marx, Karl. (1848) In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I please without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic. The communist Manifesto

4: Boaz, David. (1997) Some day soon we may be able to bypass governments to get all the goods and services we need. But in the meantime our $2.5 trillion federal-state-local governments are not going to give up their power without a fight. The U.S. Postal Service tenaciously clings to its legal monopoly. Libertarianism, a Primer. Chapter 11: Bypassing the state

5: Hobbes, Thomas. (1651) a FREE MAN is he, that in those things, which by his strength and wit he is able to do, is not hindered to do what he has a will to. Leviathan: Chapter 21.
6: Boaz, David. (1997) Property is a necessity. "Property" doesn't mean simply land, or any other physical good. Property is anything that people can use, control, or dispose of. A property right means the freedom to use, control, or dispose of an object or entity. Is this a bad, exploitative necessity? Not at all. Libertarianism: A primer. Chapter 3: Property rights
7: Berlin, Isaiah. (1969) if the liberty of myself or my class or nation depends on the misery of a number of other human beings, the system which promotes this is unjust and immoral. But if I curtail or lose my freedom in order to lessen the shame of such inequality, and do not thereby materially increase the individual liberty of others, an absolute loss of liberty occurs. Two Concepts of Liberty
8: Kennedy, David M. (1999) Whatever it was (the New Deal) was not a recovery program, or at least a very effective one. Freedom from fear
9: Constitutional Convention of Philadelphia. (1787) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The United States Constitution

UPDAYTING BEELOG

2007-04-25T12:37:59Z

CAPITALISM SUCKS !!!!!! HOLD ON WHILE I
TYPE THIS BLOG ENTRY INTO MY HIPTOP AS
I'M ATTENDING A PEACE RALLY ON TUESDAY
AFTERNOON BECAUSE CAPITALISM MADE ME
AND ALL MY FRIENDS SO RICH I NOT ONLY
DON'T NEED TO WORK MY FINGERS TO THE BONE
EVERY DAY BUT CAN EVEN TAKE WHOLE DAYS
OFF AND STILL EAT !!!!!!!!!!

STILL IT SUCKS THOUGH !!!!!!!!

Kekeke bullet rush

2007-04-19T05:18:50Z

Now it's a tragedy every time one of those yellow peril get's his monkey paws on a firearm and starts gunning down the finest minds a trailer park state can eke out, but there is a very real chance that people I knew and disliked years ago were killed.

In every cloud, a silver lining.

Fake edit: Dagnabbit, it looks like the've all make <3felt posts about it. Unless they're posting from BEYOND THE GRAVE, it seems unlikely any of them were involved, mores the pity. It means INNOCENT people were killed ;)

TODAY

2007-03-20T02:32:27Z

I am being an asshole.

OH I SAY

I'm bringing sexy back.

2007-01-05T03:26:11Z

After an eternity away from you all, I, Jack of blades will be returning to the Witchwood Arena in about a months time, hopefully.

Cocksuckers.

You drive me crazy, I just can't sleep.

2006-12-07T03:36:57Z

Re: SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY and PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS by 100,000 FBI and NSA SECRET SPIES
[comp.graphics.rendering.renderman]
Subject: Re: SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY and PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS by 100,000 FBI and NSA SECRET SPIES
From: Tahmasp@misr.gov (Pam Shat)
Date: Nov 10 2006 17:12:49
References: 1

On Tue, 7 Nov 2006 00:09:14 -0800,mindless miscreant Spamopath,
"Mathew Alexander" <mathewalexander@justice.com> masticated a long
series of mundane maudlin mewlings, thusly:

>SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY and PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS by 100,000 FBI and
>NSA SECRET SPIES
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY and PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS on INNOCENT
>US CITIZENS by a combined 100,000 FBI and NSA PSYCHOPATHIC SECRET
>SOCIETY SPIES in AMERICA.
>
>FBI and NSA PSYCHOPATHS are conducting these NON-CONSENSUAL SECRET,
>ILLEGAL, SADISTIC, PERVERTED and PSYCHOPATHIC SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY
>EXPERIMENTS and PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS on hundreds of
>thousands of innocent american citizens.
>
>
>The Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence agencies called the N.S.A. [ National
>Security Agency ], C.S.S. [ Central Security Service ], D.I.A. [ Defence
>Intelligence Agency ], D.A.R.P.A. [ Defense Advanced Reserch Projects
>Agency ], C.I.A. [ Central Intelligence Agency ], the D.H.S. [ Department of
>Homeland Security ], and the F.B.I. [ Federal Bureau of Investigation ]
>Cointelpro or Counter intelligence program unit has extremely top secret
>technology that can pick up the private thoughts given by individuals in the
>vibrations produced by the brains electrical impulses, and that these
>thoughts can be broadcast by means of microwave tranceivers, infrasound and
>ultrasound tranceivers, satellites, and any other form of technology which
>uses electromagnetic transfer, i.e. television, radio, the internet, and the
>telephone. The pentagon calls this mind reading technology SYNTHETIC
>TELEPATHY, although there is nothing paranormal about it at all. The N.S.A.
>or National Security Agency is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, and
>a very secretive part at that. The N.S.A. has a black budget, and is always
>headed by a flag officer from one of the branches of the U.S. military. The
>top secret technologies available to the U.S. military is usually thirty
>years or maybe even more ahead of the technology which is available to the
>U.S. civilian economy. Who is to know among the general U.S. public what the
>level of technological development is within the secret laboratories of the
>N.S.A. and D.A.R.P.A. [ Defense Advanced Reserch Projects Agency ]. The
>headquarters of the National Security Agency is located at Fort George Meade
>in the U.S. state of Maryland.
>
>Today, there are microscopic computer chips based on nanotechnology which
>can be inserted into a person by means of an injection, capsule, or tooth
>filling, with or without the knowledge of a doctor or a pharmacist, and
>these computer chips can track the implanted person by radio or microwaves.
>These microscopic computer chips can also be made invisible to detection by
>means of C.A.T. [ Computerized Axial Tomography ], M.R.I. [ Magnetic
>Resonance Imaging ], and P.E.T. [ Positron Emission Tomography ] scans,
>by some means of electromagnetic degaussing.
>
>With the latest top secret, and rapid technological advancements available
>to the U.S. military intelligence agencies, the need for microscopic
>computer implants in conducting synthetic telepathy against targeted
>persons is obsolete by now. Rather, a system of subliminal, subconscious,
>wireless microwave remote control is used today against targeted
>individuals suffering from synthetic telepathy harrassment. Synthetic
>Telepathy is used for conducting torture training and/or experimentation
>against people as red herring "good cop/bad cop" or tough love acting,
>diversions, feints, decoys, and smokescreens, as smear campaigns by
>association, as openly secret intimidation campaigns against targeted
>dissidents, and as a means of espionage. Once it was believed
>that claims about C.I.A. agents secretly dumping radioactive
>material in the slums of U.S. cities during the 1950's as part
>of a research program were simply mass conspiracy theories, until the U.S.
>federal government in the 1990's publicly admitted that the allegation was
>true.
>
>FBI and NSA agents who are part of a secret US society are genetically
>inclined sociopaths and psychopaths who work as hit men, torturers,
>sexual abusers, stalkers, slanderers, and agent provocateurs involved
>in murders and torture of hundreds of thousands of innocent US citizens
>for years and years. At the last count there are 50,000 NSA spies who
>are businessmen, priests, community leaders and in all walks of life
>who are SPYING and keeping tabs on pretty much all americans.
>
>The synthetic telepathy espionage trainees, sociopaths, sadomasochistic
>torturers, slanderers, experimenters, and spies, in order to avoid
>developing any sympathy for their targeted victims, deliberately avoid
>actually feeling the emotions of their victims by following the squiggly EEG
>or Electroencephalograph lines on computer monitor screens, as well as the
>silent words thought by their victims which also appear on the computer
>monitor screens. Then again, who can feel all of the emotions and thoughts
>which any given person has undergone every second of their entire lifetime.
>The emotions and silent words of the victims of synthetic telepathy
>operators can be broadcast against their will to anyone the synthetic
>telepathy torturers choose to broadcast to, and they also have the power to
>block or censor any emotions and words of their victims which they do not
>want to be broadcast. The synthetic telepathy spies can also place their own
>criminal or antisocial, negative emotions and words into their victims by
>means of subliminal, subconscious, remote control microwave brainwashing
>technology, and they can change the voice behind their words so as to make
>it appear that it is the targeted victim and not themselves who are
>communicating by means of synthetic telepathy. They can also store emotions
>and silently thought words onto a supercomputer memory bank which they can
>rebroadcast at a later time. I believe that the synthetic telepathy
>operators, although having high I.Q.'s, are predisposed towards
>sociopathic behaviour because of a genetic defect or combination of genetic
>defects, and that the only way they can sustain enthusiasm in their lives is
>by engaging in an addictive pattern of sadomasochistic activities and
>fantasies.
>
>If you do not believe that synthetic telepathy exists, then you should look
>at these following web sites which reveal that part of electromagnetic
>psychological warfare and mind control which today is declassified:
>
>I urge the readers to print/save this column as well as the following link
>where the NSA and their PSYCHO-ELECTRONIC WEAPON ATTACKS and SADISTIC
>TORTURE of hundreds of thousands of innocent american citizens
>(guinea pigs and victims) is explained in detail with diagrams and
>technology.
>
>"Covert Operations of the U.S. National Security Agency" at
>http://www.mindcintrolforums.com/pro-freedom.co.uk/cov_us.html
>
>Mind control means influencing the behaviour of an
>individual. And to creating or remolding victims personality towards desired
>state. The desired model human for the elite of the world, or, "the
>Illuminati" is: Easily steerable mass-human without personal
>characteristics. A stupefied, dumbed down person. This secures the interests
>of the elite of the world. So they can lead our lives through changing times
>the way they want.
>
>
>Apparently growing out of earlier government mind control research programs
>such as MKULTRA, and government suppression-of-dissent programs such as
>COINTELPRO, today's mind control is covert, finely crafted, around the clock
>harassment perpetrated against citizens living in their homes and
>communities.
>
>
>It is to be noted, that MK-ULTRA and other government programs worked as a
>front for the "alien" mind control techniques, which are superior. The
>intradimensional way of mind control using the "alien" technologies ensures,
>that the result is always the desired one. And undesired for all free-loving
>people.
>
>
>Destruction of family and other relationships by way of lies, bribes, and
>threats is a goal of the phase of today's mind control. The current day mind
>control program has been carefully engineered so that if the target
>complains, their own words will instantly cause them to be labeled as
>mentally ill.
>
>
>The mind/body symptoms of current day mind control include: Excruciating
>PAIN(!) Exceptionally frequent blanking of recent memories, and truncation
>of new ideas
>
>
>- Very unnatural inability to sleep, as if large amounts of caffeine have
>been consumed.
>- Sudden forced awakening at precisely the same time in the middle of the
>night, continuing for at least months, and right on a clock time such as 4
>am, zero minutes, zero seconds
>- Sudden clumsiness, which can result in spills, spoilage of precise work,
>or injury - Attacks of extreme fatigue, sometimes almost to the point of
>paralysis, when there is no reason for such attacks
>- Frequent powerful itching without rash, and which may start as a small
>electric shock
>- Artificial "bee stings", especially while trying to get to sleep
>- Wildly racing heart without any cause
>- Sudden overheating, without any cause
>- Frequent flailing of arms and legs as you try to sleep
>- Fake sounds such as alarm clock going off when it shouldn't, telephone
>ringing when there is no incoming call, knocking on the door but no one is
>there
>- Voices, either very insulting, or telling you things that indicate you are
>under surveillance
>- Vibration of body parts when trying to sleep
>- High pitched tone in ears, which may change when switching electronic
>equipment on or off In some cases, statements by strangers indicating they
>know what you had for supper In some cases, statements by strangers
>indicating they can read your thoughts
>- Artificial and powerful sexual stimulation
>- Artificial and powerful PREVENTION of sexual stimulation .
>
>
>This is THE EXTERIOR of mind control. The non-noticeable mind control is
>more dangerous one. That is the manipulation of our thoughts and emotions
>WITHOUT our notice of things.
>
>We think we lead our lives. But we do not. We have to wake up to take notice
>on the situation. And try to change the course of history.
>
>FBI and NSA SECRET SOCIETY imposes us the New world order using mind
>control.
>And we can`t shield ourselves from it. Which makes us as puppets on strings.
>
>
>"Electromagnetic Weapons and Mind Control": from CNN's Special Assignment,
>about 1985, at http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/cnn-mc.htm , by Chuck De
>Caro, CNN Special Assignments,
>and "List of mind control symptoms, in "2005 update:
>The convergence of the cold war history of mind control and
>electromagnetic weapons with new
>post cold war government neuroscience reserch programs," by Cheryl Welsh,
>Director, Mind Justice, 2005, at http://www.mindjustice.org/2005update.htm
>and http://www.mindjustice.org/symptoms.htm
>
>Also, there is an interesting article called "Brain wave technology could
>change lives: Imagine controlling a computer using only your thoughts." This
>technology already exists in the civilian economy as a means of playing
>video games, for example. See this link:
>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6661974/ . The article was written by Robert
>Bazell, correspondent for NBC News, and was updated at 7:31p.m., December 6,
>2004. Another web site concerned with gaining information on the electrical
>activity of brainwaves, and by means of wireless technology, can be found in
>the Sunday, 17 November, 2002, 00:41 GMT BBC NEWS World Edition article
>called "Remote control brain sensor", at
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2361987.stm
>
>
>MANCHURIAN CANDIDATES
>
>
> "4 Elite Airborne commandos Return from a Special Operation in
>Afghanistan and suddenly torture and murder their wives"
>
>
>Friday, July 26, 2002 1:33 p.m. EDT FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Reuters) -
>Four U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg, including three special
>operations servicemen who returned home this year after tours of
>duty in Afghanistan, allegedly killed their wives recently, military
>officials said on Friday. In two of the cases, the soldiers killed
>themselves after shooting their spouses, officials said. In the
>other two, the servicemen have been arrested and are facing charges.
> "There has been a recent series of instances where soldiers have
>either committed murder or murder-suicide against their wives," said
>Maj. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the Army Special Operations Command.
>
>
>http://www.projectfreedom.cng1.com/esp.html
>
>
>STARGATE is one of the many names given to the Army's classified
>clan of remote viewers. This project was hidden deeply within the
>government for close to two decades. The work of Harold Puthoff Ph.D.,
>at SRI international http://www.sri.com/index/html joined with the
>work of others at the Cognitive Science Laboratory
>(http://www.lfr.org/csl) helped to supply the CIA with the framework
>of what was then known as Project GRILLFRAME. By 1978 America's
>first remote viewers were at work. It is rumored the cold war was
>responsible for the government's interest in remote viewing
>because Russia had spies not dissimilar to our remote viewers.
>
>
>Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A.
>Alex Constantine
>
>
>(1995) Another bombshell from the fecund furnace of Feral House Press.
>Constantine, a political researcher in the mold of Mae Brussell, has
>gathered together a well-documented survey. "Bombing minds rather than
>bodies is the warfare of the new millennium... Funded under the
>euphemism of Non-Lethal Technology, the Pentagon has developed the
>ability to transmit voices, and inflict pain, madness, even death,
>with the push of a button. Hard to believe? Believe it! Official
>sources have publicly admitted to the existence of such technology."
>Topics covered: Telemetric mind control, hearing voices, false memory
>hoax, E. Howard Hunt's Death Squads, The GOP's Pink Triangle & the
>CIA, Johnny Carson and the S&L crisis, and let's not forget the
>chapter on NutraSweet as crowd control.
>221 pages, PB
>PDU
>$12.95
>
>The term "mind control" comes from former CIA director Allen Dulles.
>In 1953, Dulles, speaking before a national meeting of Princeton
>alumni, distinguished two fronts in the then-current "battle for men's
>minds": a "first front" of mass indoctrination through censorship and
>propaganda, and a "second front" of individual "brainwashing" and
>"brain changing." Before an audience of fellow Ivy Leaguers, Dulles
>skipped the usual pieties about democracy. The same year, Dulles
>approved the CIA's notorious MKULTRA project, and exempted it from
>normal CIA financial controls.
>
>
>A partial list of aggressive promoters of this new technology includes
>Oak Ridge National Lab, Sandia National Laboratories, Science
>Applications International Corporation, MITRE Corporation, Lawrence
>Livermore National Lab, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
>
>In 1996, the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board published a
>14-volume study of future developments in weapons called New World
>Vistas. Tucked away on page 89 of an ancillary 15th volume are some
>hair-raising insights into the future 'coupling' of man
>and machine in a section dealing with 'Biological Process
>Control'. The author refers to an 'explosion' of
>knowledge in the field of neuroscience, adding, ominously:
>
>
>One can envision the development of electromagnetic energy sources,
>the output of which can be pulsed, shaped, and focused, that can
>couple with the human body in a fashion that will allow one to prevent
>voluntary muscular movements, control emotions (and thus actions),
>produce sleep, transmit suggestions, interfere with both short-term
>and long-term memory, produce an experience set, and delete an
>experience set.
>
>
>Translating the words 'experience set' from military
>jargon into plain English, this means, simply, that they envisage the
>ability to erase your life's memories and substitute a new,
>fictitious set.
>
>By projecting such developments into the future, the authors of New
>Vistas are camouflaging present day capabilities. A similar futuristic
>scenario with many references to mind manipulation is described in The
>Revolution in Military Affairs and Conflict Short of War (US Army War
>College, 1994). Authors Steven Metz and James Kievit declare:
>"Behaviour modification is a key component of peace
>enforcement" and "The advantage of [using] directed energy
>systems is deniability." The authors ask: "Against whom is
>such deniability aimed?" The direct answer is "the
>American people".
>
>
>Edward Tilton, President of Silent Sounds Inc., says this about S-quad
>in a letter dated 13 December, 1996:
>
>
>All schematics, however, have been classified by the US Government and
>we are not allowed to reveal the exact details. we make tapes
>and CDs for the German Government, even the former Soviet Union
>countries! All with the permission of the US State Department, of
>course. The system was used throughout Operation Desert Storm
>(Iraq) quite successfully.
>
>
>By using these computer-enhanced EEGs, scientists can identify and
>isolate the brain's low-amplitude "emotion signature
>clusters", synthesise them and store them on another computer.
>In other words, by studying the subtle characteristic brainwave
>patterns that occur when a subject experiences a particular emotion,
>scientists have been able to identify the concomitant brainwave
>pattern and can now duplicate it. "These clusters are then
>placed on the Silent Sound carrier frequencies and will silently
>trigger the occurrence of the same basic emotion in another human
>being!"
>
>
>Microwaves can also alter the permeability of the body's
>blood-brain barrier,14 which can synergistically increase the effects
>of drugs, as the military is well aware. "Using relatively
>low-level RFR, it may be possible to sensitise large military groups
>to extremely dispersed amounts of biological or chemical agents to
>which the unirradiated population would be immune."15
>
>
>Sound can be transmitted even easier through the use of implants -
>cochlear implants, implants that send electrical signals into the
>fluid of the inner ear, or implants that transmit sound vibrations via
>bone conduction, such as the cases of dental fillings picking up
>audible radio signals.
>
>
>The stimoceiver, invented by Dr. Jose Delgado, consists of wires
>running from strategic points in the brain to a radio
>receiver/transmitter located entirely under the skin. Through this
>device, Delgado was able to stimulate raw emotions such as arousal,
>anxiety, and aggression with the turn of a knob.
>Of course, secret research by the US Government into microwaves and
>synthetic telepathy has moved on considerably since the end of the
>Cold War ... secret microwave radiation can be used to induce in
>unsuspecting victims: "Headache, fatigue, perspiring, dizziness,
>menstrual disorders, irritability, agitation, tension, drowsiness,
>sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, and the lack of
>concentration."
>
>Naval Research Lab Attempts To Meld Neurons And Chips: Studies May
>Produce Army of 'Zombies.'
>
>
>Future battles could be waged with genetically engineered organisms,
>such as rodents, whose minds are controlled by computer chips
>engineered with living brain cells.... The research, called
>Hippo-campal Neuron Patterning, grows live neurons on computer chips.
>"This technology that alters neurons could potentially be used
>on people to create zombie armies," Lawrence Korb, a senior
>fellow at the Brookings Institution, said.
>
>
>See also "National Security Agency" in
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency ,
>"Central Security Service" in
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Security_Service ,
>"ECHELON" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON ,
>"Defense Intelligence Agency" in
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Intelligence_Agency ,
>and "Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency" in
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Advanced_Research_Projects_Agency
>
>
>
>The following links explain secret MKULTRA and COINTELPRO programs of FBI,
>CIA and NSA agencies.
>
>
>http://thirdworldtraveler.com/FBI/FBI_watch.html
>
>
>http://thirdworldtraveler.com/NSA/NSA_page.html
>
>
>http://thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/CIA_ThirdWorld.html
>
>
>
>
>
An Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie (AFDB) is a type of headwear that
can shield your brain from most electromagnetic psychotronic mind
control carriers. AFDBs are inexpensive (even free if you don't mind
scrounging for thrown-out aluminium foil) and can be constructed by
anyone with at least the dexterity of a chimp (maybe bonobo). This
cheap and unobtrusive form of mind control protection offers real
security to the masses. Not only do they protect against incoming
signals, but they also block most forms of brain scanning and mind
reading, keeping the secrets in your head truly secret. AFDBs are safe
and operate automatically. All you do is make it and wear it and
you're good to go! Plus, AFDBs are stylish and comfortable.

What are you waiting for? Make one today!

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

UP DOWN LEFT LEFT HALF CIRLCE START BUTTON

2006-09-28T02:55:56Z

Unhappy, unhappy...

2006-08-11T02:50:12Z

I have THIS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epstein-Barr_virus

And that's why I haven't been around much and won't be for a while.
Feeling rather unwell, and not too keen on the possible liver damage that my recent bloodwork results indicated.

Not going to uni, not going to the army, sitting round home doped up on shitloads of codine and anti-histomines to control the horrid full-body rash that is resultant of the clash between the EBV and some of my medication.

Kate has been an angel looking after me, I can't express that enough.

Edit: To clarify, the main problem I have with EBV is that I got it post-adolencence, where, like chickenpox, it goes from being a mild childhood illness to a major health problem for the infectee. Infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever) is a hell of a thing, I cannot swallow without horrid pain (except thanks to coidine).

Guess who's side I'm on.

2006-07-14T06:22:43Z

SUPERPIMP

2006-06-28T05:32:55Z

Last Friday the Woman decided it was time to go clubbing, and unfortunately not my favourite kind that involves artic temperatures and baby seals. So off we went. After cruising through King O’Malley’s and Shooters we went off to Mooseheads as we’d heard about the five dollar cocktails. And so I found myself at the bar ordering some horridly embarrassingly named drink for the Woman (It was either a slippery nipple or a deep pussy, I have no idea). Dressed up nicey-nice with the red silk shirt and black suit, hair spiked up and cheeks free of their semi-permanent stubble I must admit I would have made the senior section cross it’s legs, but still, I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

A middle-aged, rather sluttish looking woman walks up to me while I’m waiting on my embarrassing cocktail.

“Hi, I’m recruiting”
“Ahh, what? Recruiting?”
“Yes” She then made a carnivorific grin at me that was hardly reassuring.

Remembering my short but eventful career in the sales industry I leapt to my first conclusion.

“If this is door to door sales, I tried it and I didn’t like it”
“No, no, nothing like that”
“Well, look, I already have a part-time job, so..”
“What is it?”
“The Army, so unless you can match getting to blow shit up on a weekend, sorry”
“How much does the army pay then?” During this time she’s been gazing at me akin to a fortune-teller staring at her ball. I was growing ever more hopeful she wasn’t seeing her future in my reflection.

“Over two hundred a weekend”
“Two hundred? That’s nothing! Peanuts! You could make over five hundred on a Saturday, YOU could” I couldn’t help but note the inflection she placed on ‘you’. I can’t help but be suspect of a sales enterprise where the main quality of the product in question was the salesman himself. As it turned out I was rather close to the mark.

“Doing what? Robbing banks?”
“Nope, the sex industry”

DING DING DING DING DING

Observing my rather boggled expression she continued

“The ladies like a face like yours, a lot of the professionals round her in Canberra are girls in their 30’s, no husbands or no husbands worth speaking of, and what they want is a cute, boyish face to dominate. It helps that you’re a little short.

“Fwha?”

“Don’t worry; you wouldn’t have to do any boys if that’s not your thing”

And thus I rallied magnificently as my cocktail finally emerged over the bar and the sullen barmaid gave me my change.

“Thanks, that’s very flattering, but I’m almost certain my girlfriend might object somewhat”

And thus I swept away, leaving a wryly grinning Madam in my wake, who, I was later told was watching my arse as I left. Oh yeah.

You gunna get rapped.

2006-06-16T07:05:43Z

Dead terrorists give me an erection.

2006-06-09T05:20:56Z

More than likely.

GET OUT FAGGOT

2006-06-08T03:11:14Z

In the news tonight.

2006-06-06T04:34:40Z

After the catastrophic explosion in the Victorian state senate last week, investigators into the incident have released their preliminary finding to an eager public. The cause has been pinned down to Senator Doughy McPoundworth, who had earlier eaten over 21 kilograms of raw sugar in a lunchroom dare. The build-up of gasses from this over-ambitious consumption was expelled from the senator’s body at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, annihilating the rear of the senator’s trousers, his chair and over 4 feet of the plywood panelling immediately behind him. Senator Ian Jockston’s cigar ignited his fellow senator’s volatile expulsions in a fireball that demolished the senate. This has prompted a motion from the liberal state representatives to ban smoking in the senate building, however Senator Jockston issued a counter-motion from hospital calling instead for the banning of ‘fat, butter-eating faggots’ from the senate building instead. As over a quarter of the state senate falls in this category, Senator Jockston’s motion looks unlikely to be carried.

Infamous cripple, Steven Hawking has been voted ‘Worst Man in America’ for the seventh year in a row. Hawking, who turned his massive brain to the task of supervillianry nearly a decade ago has been internationally condemned for his numerous attempts to hold the world to ransom through a variety of cunning plans. Hawkins’s latest venture late last year to overthrow the United States government and proclaim himself Emperor led to the complete razing of San Francisco to which the United States president famously remarked “Thank god nothing important was destroyed by that madman”. Hawking shares this dubious honour with other noted archvillians such as L. Ron Hubbard and former US president John Taft. Hawking has released a statement in response to the award from his orbital fortress swearing, “I will have my vengeance against all who have mocked me. Just you wait and see, I’ll show you all.”

Enraged French-national citizens have protested on the streets of Vancouver and other major Canadian cities today in response to the government’s decision to raise the legal age of consent to 10. Canada, the world’s leading producer of pinewood broom handles, has suffered international criticism in recent years over its age of consent, defined in Canadian law as “The third trimester”. Spokesperson for the protesters, Reno Lassiter stated that “Paedophilia is the only thing that makes Canada interesting” and claimed that Canada would loose the sole aspect of culture the nation has, as well as a massive tourist revenue from the United States as American sex addicts would be forced to go to Europe for their fix of grey-market child prostitution. The Canadian government issues a statement that the new laws don’t go far enough and an additional bill will be introduced to the senate calling for the outlawing of rape. Political analysts are of the belief that the new bill will encounter stiff opposition from the public.

And now for the latest from the Middle East. The Palestinian government has called on its neighbours Syria and Lebanon to join together in an attempt to invade Israel. Reactions have been mixed with the Syrian government claiming to be willing as soon as they can actually locate Palestine on a map, while a spokesman for the Lebanonese government stated “we can still remember the last time we tried helping you insane fuckers” and claiming they were happy with the current arrangement to drive out the Jews from their homeland which consists of annoying the hell out of them by forcing them to accommodate ‘the most bizarre group of incompetent nutcases in the Muslim world’ on their own territory.

The king of the internet, Derek Smart has announced today that the internet will be shut for maintenance over the next three days. Several of the World Wide Web’s backbone structures will be overhauled and upgraded in an attempt to cope with the massive surge of furry pornography that has been crippling major servers worldwide. The 72 hour shutdown is expected to result in tens of thousands of suicides worldwide as some of the more degenerate members of the human race are unable to cope. His majesty, King Smart has stated that ‘anyone unable to live three days without the internet is a pox upon his fellows and all men profit from his death’. The United Nations Secretary General has publicly agreed with the monarch’s statement, adding ‘Go outside for once, spotty’. Global protests from angry internet users have been ignored, as all were online protests hosted on livejournal and bestiality website forums and no-one cared except the participants themselves.

The reputation of music as an art form has been further tarnished today with the release of rap star Tu-fiddy-icepak’s latest album. Hot on the heels of his earlier smash-hit album “Fuck all authority, yo” comes “Say what, what, holla”, another collection of stripped techno-tracks overdubbed with simple poetry read in a monotone. The album is expected to go gold within the week. The opening track “Playa, yo, playa” has proved immensely popular with teenagers nationwide, with many eager to spend their parent’s money to buy the entire album.

Except from ‘Playa, yo, playa”

Playa, yo, Playa
I’m a playa, yo
I gots da cash
To buy a bitches gash
I’m a playa, yo

I’m a playa, fo sure
Yo can’t ignore
Dats I a playa
Cause I’ve had sex

Noted Queer, Philip Glass has accused Tu-fiddy-icepak of being an insult to double-digit IQ levels, to which the artist’s manager replied that not even the tone-deaf can tolerate Glass’s electronic screeching. The rap star himself denied commenting, preferring instead to make a concerted effort to avoid dragging his knuckles on the ground.

The United States Military has rejected yet another prototype in its search to replace the aging M-16 series rifle. The Fragmeister 600 battle-rifle, which fires 15mm hypersonic rockets at a rate of 900 per minute from a 60 round helical magazine, with minimal recoil and accuracy up to 5 kilometres was rejected on the grounds that the rifle only outperformed the M-16 by a mere factor of 934% instead of the required 1,000%, and that the Fragmeister 600 cost $30 more to manufacture than the latest M-16 variant. Military analysts declined comment due to having been rendered speechless by the decision. The German-based company that produced the Fragmeister 600 has instead entered into lucrative arms contracts with China, Iran, North Korea and Syria.

MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT

2006-05-18T05:31:14Z

Can't stop thinking about meat.

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

MEAT

</font></font></font>

Don't you understand?

2006-05-10T05:25:33Z

Don't Techno for an Answer says:
If only we come to understand them then we will come to a deeper understanding and encourage them to understand us and when everyone understands each other they will understand that there is no need for anything except understanding

Fearless Leader says:
No, none of that bullshit.

Second set of emails from Iraq. Semper Fi, motherfuckers

2006-05-10T03:47:15Z

Drills are drills are drill, whatever the conflict. IA drills are central to Marine Battle Doctrine. The problem is application to situation. IA drills on scene fitted to circumstance are key. We practiced where we were, next to an overpass and close to the road in situations similar to what we experience in ambushes. Getting across the ditches and into the enemies guts is the tough part. Lack of immediate follow-up is another issue. Small Roach choppers would have been great to put fire teams behind fleeing enemy to cut off retreat. Yet weare constantly refused this kind of support even though we are in one of the hottest places regards ambushes and roadside bombs in Iraq.

We asked for some dirt bikes which could jump the ditches but this notion was shot down due to lack of armor and some higher-up thought it sounded dangerous. Very aggressive action produces dead bad guys. The enemy’s ability to score rifle and MG hits is minimal, unless in very close quarters or if an MG is set up to fire on fixed lines, which we did encounter once. The heavy MGs have been mounted on technicals, pick up trucks, utes, and they fire from behind a palm grove, and would be situated near a small village with a high speed avenue of egress. They like to fire close to villages as then they can later claim we killed innocent civilians. Mostly these are Shia villages or sub tribes of Sunni that are neutral to the US .

They do not like us hurting their homes and families. The Syrian and foreigners tended to be a lot less worried about Iraqi casualties. My recommendations would be to drop a lot of our body armor, get some high speed vehicles that can negotiate the terrain, get some very close air support Roach Helicopters and assign them to platoons in the field. Get us cell phones that work like the bad guys have. Man pack the mortars, and divide the platoons into hunter killer teams 24-7 hrs of the day on a rotating schedule. Problem is if a Marine gets killed without armor on, some one gets court martialled. All the toys such as Helos are kept by higher command for sexy operations. The idea of sending out small teams to infest an area seems more special ops than grunt work but it is what needs to be done to win. Thanks again for listening.
Semper Fi
Lucky.

Graham, the Marine Doctrine and training is as you have written. Three 4 man fire teams makes up a squad and is the nucleus of the platoon. Our technology only goes so far and your statements regards the infantry having to go in regardless are on the money. I am a fan of body armor on vehicles, in defensive positions and even in cities. In open country it is an impediment. Our Armor is good enough to stop 7.62 and most fragments and I have seen it perform very well but you pay a price, just like the knights at Crecy and Agincourt. We are so heavy if you pushed us over we would need help to get up. The Cav is here and we worked with them. Lots of gear, not a lot of grunts.

We have trouble getting Helo support due to our mission, again, not being sexy enough and higher command don't want to lose a Helo. The enemy’s ability to take them down is good, in certain situations. Counter insurgent tactics are micro. Macro is the world higher command lives in. Their tactics are more a product of how not to lose, rather than how to win.

Miserable is not a world people like to live in. It will take grunts getting super miserable to be able to kill more bad guys. Bored, we must be willing to be bored out of our brains, as we will be doing very boring, stay out in the rotten field forever ops. Outlast the enemy. They are patient, which is cheap and something they have in abundance. We bail after 2 nights in a hot area without contact, like there is a hotter poker machine around the corner. Patience will produce dead bad guys.

We need to develop bases that are simply shower, bed and maybe Internet access and phones to call home, not mega bases, huge commissary monuments to hedonism. Screw the ice cream and viva la dead guy body bag. I would shorten tours to 3 months set up killer roaming teams that spend weeks out roaming the wastes and killing the bad guys. Haul them in every few weeks hose them down, let them rest for 3 days and kick them out into the war again. It is too easy to simply become a" Fobbitt." Forward, Operating Base Hobbitt. Stay in nice warm or cool hole, eat lots and escape nasty adventures. The length of tour and the constant operations make time go fast and I think produce more results. Keeping people here a year is ridiculous, 7 months for Marines is not bad but still a little long. Rotate in and out. The story about gaining enough ability and experience over time is not real.

I observed very tired operators in the field. Still going ok but far from crisp. The whackers on base saw the occasional mortar round but really lived as if they were back on a base in the US. Some of these idiots were even saluting on base in-country. It was insane. Overall the infantry is doing the job and all arms are helping getting it done, but we could be doing so much more. The cost of moving personnel and gear every 3-4 months make it cost prohibitive, but the value in increased operating ability would be worth it. Lessons learned are not well transferred. I would create mobile liaison teams of veterans who have been there, that shepherd the units into areas of operations. The current way of left seat, right seat is not good. Usually your opposite number stays with you a day or two then “See ya! I’m going home. Have fun.” With a team that is sticking round a while and has the specialty of teaching you stuff you may get more out of it.

The training must never cease even when in contact daily. In any down time, rehearse and train if you are able and continue to do physical training since you lose your edge as the days go past and dieting is a joke. No doubt we can really hurt these people if we put all our mind to it. Good posts, Brother. Writing this stuff is good for me as I can vent and remember the lessons learned. I have after action reports but they are very long and may not be appropriate for your forum. Take care.
Semper Fi

Lucky.

It's fuckin' Christmas

2006-05-09T03:26:53Z

I got sent this by an armybuddy who'd been emailing his Marine friend in Iraq. First of four.

Graham, you have it right regarding the targeting of Iraqis. We seem to be a peripheral or after thought. There is a civil war going on here and in my view began right after we marched into Bahgdad in 2003. The Sunnis do not wish to relinquish power after having it since the mid 60s. Everything here is tribal and even in individual tribes there are divisions and animosities. The Shia are seeking payback for the oppression they have suffered, the Sunnis are fighting for survival - politically and physically.

There are gun runners, arms dealers, criminals, Wahabists, Shia radicals, ex-regimists, gangs, foreign fighters from Chechnya, Saudi, Yemen, Jordan, Palestine and lord knows where else. It is a lot like US gangs and drug runners in US cities. The weirdest groups form short-term alliances based on immediate need. Al Qaeda funds a lot of anti-US stuff but will assist other groups if it feels it can gain a superiority. Syria has supplied a lot of technical training to the Baath party aligned groups, mostly mortar teams and bomb makers. The Shia are not in favor of aligning with Iran due to the past war with them.

The group in Bahgdad with Sadde are not indicative of the motivation of the rest of the country. Most of the Shia look at him as a puppy upstart. But the Sunnis have been killing and terrorizing the Shia in their Triangle area to send a message. This is in fact turning more unaligned Shia into the more radical camp. The religious aspect of this war is being fractured by the many factions in Iraq. Factions are the glue that binds their society together by being different. It is also what allows the people to be oppressed.

Non believers are usually forced to submit or if they convert to another religion they are simply killed. This mentality is very strange to most Westerners. There is a book called the ‘Arab Mind’ by a man named Patai which I highly recommend. The idea proposed by some that we can’t beat a birth rate is wrong. You will be surprised to learn that in these tribal cliques, if you kill enough of a family, the women will stop the war: blood feuds will only go so far.

As to your question on tactics, in an insurgent war everything must be small unit operations and respond to the local to the situation. If you can buy off the right people it will give you enough information to base operational decisions on. In my view intelligence generated from higher formation has not always been helpful. In some instances intel that my platoon gathered from operations was often returned to us a week later and was treated as if it had come from some highly secretive source. It was usually stale and operations generated from it were pure fantasy.

Once we put sniper teams on the ground, and small 4-6 man teams, we began to have success. The upper command discouraged it, as it was seen as risky. We continued with it and were very successful. The Iraqi National Guard have a lot of problems but are improving by the day. They tended to tell others about any operation we are doing so we stopped including them in any prior planning and simply dragged them along. On guard duty they tend to let terrorists go as they will be paid later. Some intel they generated was based on the inter- tribal rivalry or people they disliked in their own organization. Sound familiar? Correct The Phoenix Program, Vietnam. Again, much like drug gangs in the US who will rat out another gang and give information about where drug houses are etc. If you understand the dynamics of the situation you can generate missions to deal with this. The hearts and minds thing is a relic from Vietnam and I will tell you that the collective memory from that war has lodged itself in the upper command echelon. You can not do any hearts and minds stuff in the Sunni triangle. When you have no incentive for the Sunnis to buy into the game then there is no way to win their hearts. They believe if they lose, the Shia will kill them out. At best they will be relegated to being dirt poor farmers with no place in the new regime.

We need to stabilize the region and make it secure so the nation-building can occur. All the local shepherd or farmer wants is to be left in peace so his kids have some chance to live. Due to the centralised nature of Iraq, the countries surrounding it are very threatened by the thought of a democratic Iraq and are sending forces and assets into country to keep it de -stabilized. The idea of keeping huge bases here is a mistake in my opinion. It is the result of the experience of people who were junior officers in Vietnam and are now generals. Instead of Fire Bases we have Forward Operating Bases. This is where we store our supplies and people and make it so like home that it almost a 9-5 job for some guys.

What we need is to split up into smaller units and really not present large targets, nor provide transportation conduits too and from these bases. If we were to do that, things may stabilize a lot sooner. The fear of casualties is also a problem. In order to be effective the risks that we must be taken involve sending small, very well supported units deep into the enemies country to disrupt their operations. This is not a generals, or even a Colonels war. The Marine Corp says it’s a Corporals/Team Leader war. Let the small unit leaders fight it and results will follow.

On the ground, morale is very high. I lived under a bridge overpass on route 1 a few miles South West of Baghdad for a while. You wouldn’t do that with poor moral. We protected convoys; ran raid missions and sniper missions and were virtually an independent platoon. Our Companies operated out of smaller FOBS. We are hurting the enemy more than they are hurting us, and we count success one terrorist at a time, one mission at a time. Overall we are getting the job done, but the media and the people back home are impatient. It took 3000 years of tyranny to make that sand box. It has only had the chance of freedom for a couple of years. Personally the freedom of Iraq is only important to me as it impacts on the safety of the United States. If by fighting here we can prevent another attack on my nation, then I will fight here and any where else. Semper Fi

Lucky.

Brother Warrior. The embedded journalist issue is an interesting one and I agree with your thoughts. The public watches the history channel and reads a few books and they think they know more about fighting a war than the soldier. So do the media. My problems with upper command, and I am talking Flag level, is from the perspective of a Platoon Sergeant of a line infantry company. There are still some of your Vietnam Veterans around, very few, who are in active service and are doing a superior job. Mostly medical staff and a few Warrant Officers. The issue is one of tactics and common sense regards the cultural /ethnic situation on the ground. What worked in Vietnam, specifically winning hearts and minds, does not work here. I am a small unit tactics man who believes the trick to winning is to get your rear end out there and lock horns with the enemy. I was almost relieved 3 times for sending small teams out on ambush patrols, until it became an effective means of area denial because we were killing bad guys. If it doesn’t involve a lot of troops, tanks and Tacair, then it is not sexy enough for the top level management guys. I have a sniper team background and the tactical situation screamed for this sort of asset. Once we got it up and running and were successful, we found the upper command pulling our attachments to go to more urban areas where they had an almost impossible time blending in.

Our war is very small unit oriented, very scary to battalion and higher, but it has succeeded in turning our 7 miles of bad road from Black to Green. We have made huge mistakes and suffered some casualties for this but learned on the fly until we had the code almost cracked. I read a lot of Gunney Pooles books, such as The Last Hundred Yards, One More Bridge to Cross, Phantom Soldiers, Soldiers of the Crescent Moon. You were right about them, they are excellent tactical primers. As you know, the first is a how-to book on being an infantryman and I highly suggest it to anyone. The others are basically philosophy, history and a lot of how our enemies think. Letting the team leaders and Sergeants run the war when it comes to small unit operations is the key.

As you suggested, if your training has not been tailored to do this then it is very risky sending small teams out to lock horns with the enemy. We devised quick response teams and had a good fire support plan, always 60 mm mortars. As you tactfully reminded me, it is the only asset we can rely on due to clearance requirements for artillery. In fact we man pack this asset and also have them on the back of Hummers and fire it hand held: very good weapons system. I won’t ask how you knew. We have developed an excellent knowledge of the ground around us and of enemy infil and exfil routes. We’ve found that boots on the ground give us a lot of intelligence and even if the enemy know we are in the area, it denied it to him.

Further, we saturate areas with small teams and plant snipers in other less hot zones. This drives them to the les shot zones and we kill them. This whole thing takes patience and a lot of communication assets. We were reduced to buying off the shelf radios and using mike clicks and simple codes. Upper command gets very impatient and seems to abandon operations without allowing the situation to fully develop. Our enemy simply waits us out sometimes. The tribe in our area brought in Syrian mortar teams and other hired help to try and get rid of us. We changed with the circumstance and ended up getting rid of them. The bad guys are very adaptive and will change their method of operation to suit the circumstances. Out-thinking them is the key.

The roads are the problem as they really canalize where we can go. Our solution was to go deep with teams and keep eyes on areas where our enemy congregates and mobilises, cross roads, bridges, Mosques and all the usual suspects. The tendency for our armor heavy units was to not leave the roads and these units are infantry poor. We have Humvees, and very light ones I might add, no over head protection and reminded me a lot of the old M3 Half Tracks of WWII. In ambush situation when the sides of the road are dry, we turn into it and disappear from the road, as the sides of the roads on the main highways have depressions on both sides. Our vehicles will race to the next canal berm, dismount infantry, and supported by 240G and M2 heavy MGs will aggress our trouble makers.

Due to the heavy body armor we wear a lot of times, our guys often get rid of it and jump the small canals just to get closer. The bad guys usually have two water or trench obstacles between you and them. They will also attack asymmetrically from both sides of the road and even include mortars to assist the extraction of their forces.

Almost every ambush I have been in, except one, was initiated by an explosive device. Very aggressive action by ambushed forces is deadly to the enemy as they know that units travelling down the road are told to push through ambushes, which allows time for the bad guys to get away. This is insanity in my opinion as the only reason we are there is to kill these guys. Operations get very tiring and the strain of something going boom every day wears you down, though, that being said, staying at a base where internet and movies and ice cream are a daily occurrence, not to mention hot chow and showers is a little too much like peace. Nice every now and then but should not be a staple.

Our higher command, with the aid of the Internet, will tell lower units how to do things, from where to place your machine guns to what type of ammo you should use. We simply ignore this lunacy and find it is best to simply fight the battle. Since most of our small unit actions are less than 5 minutes, this is not an issue. The amount of useless reporting is also a waste of time. These morons were asking for shell reports on incoming mortar fire and want us to measure craters and find points of origin when we could see where the bad guys were shooting from and knew from the sound and impact what calibre it was. Missions coming down from higher would some times include our less than armored little force leading "up armored hummers "and armored vehicles into hot spots where an explosion would scratch the others paint but would kill us.

Oh well enough ranting.

The good news is that we are successful in spite of our higher headquarters and all the problems. At the basic infantryman level, we are excelling. More resources spent on better equipped infantry, especially communications assets, (the bad guys have cell phones) would assist greatly. Looking back I think another mistake is not being aggressive enough, and keeping operations more continuous. After almost 7 months, even though my men are very tired, we could have done more. A couple battalions of Australian infantry on joint operations with the Marine Corp in theatre would also help. It is good talking about all this and nice to talk to an old time soldier. I thank you for your friendship. To your wonderful nation I thank you for what Australia has done in the past and for what you are doing in Iraq.
Semper Fi
Lucky.

Apparently this is attractive

2006-05-01T05:14:58Z

LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO!

LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO! LMAO!

Yes. More. But make it sexier.

INTERNET GANGSTER ALERT

2006-04-21T05:03:21Z

For all those non-dramadramadrama friends of mine, I'd like to introduce you to a magnificent specimen of the freak kingdom.

Blackwingdragon.

Click links for instant lulz, gentlement, it does not get easier (or lazier on my part) than this.

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Blackwingdragon

http://xandertheblue.livejournal.com/103172.html

I want my, I want my, I want my M-TV

2006-04-18T05:51:52Z

What a week it's been bouys and gulls!

The long awaited trip to Texas, NY and San Fran with the woman ended up being one person short as my future father in law got all squishy and full of feelings and decided to turn the trip into some sort of father-daughter bonding session. He did however end up making the sweet deal of awarding me the consolation prize of being able to spend 6 months NEXT year in America with Kate on his coin. Beats 3 weeks in the states on half and half this year, so I took it.

Quite weird actually sleeping single again. Not quite as there is of course Ripley and Socks the kitty-cats but they are far less satisfying company than the Woman, I'm afraid.

Of course having the house to myself does let me indulge in !!HEDONISM!!

Not as cool as it sounds I'm afraid, as hedonism is as simple as watching TV in the Woman's T-Shirt with $20 dollars of cheap wine, a carton of ciggarettes and Electric Six playing in the background on low volume.

Still, try doing that with one's better half being any closer than half a world away.

Oh also my computer blew up. I'll be internauting from public terminals for the next couple weeks at least it seems, sadly. The worst part for the moment will be retyping and recollecting all my essays and research. Ugh.

Anyway faggots, hope you had a happy easter. Tis the season to celebrate crucifiction!

On that subject first...

2006-04-18T05:40:41Z

I stay away from the internet for a few days (not self imposed, naturally) and find the ex-gf's LJ has exploded. It's hilarious as people are blaming me. Oh, don't get me wrong I would have loved to have added to it, but sadly the computer had died and I had no idea what was going on in the great wide e-world.

Right now though, looking at it, it's fucking hilarious.

Oh no, it happened again! :o

2006-04-10T04:40:02Z

Hey look, a lying whore fucks up again!

Don't worry, someone will finally say "Te quiero, puta" someday.
Just keep sleeping round till it happens ;)

Lot of defensive folks on the Internet these days.

2006-04-08T03:31:31Z

Damn, I'm getting burned :o