Mumbai, One Year Later..........

I know that today is Thanksgiving and that since it is a time of being thankful and being with families that this post will be a bit out of place, but so be it.

It was a year ago today, that 10 well dressed young men carrying explosives, Chinese type 86 hand grenades and AK-47 rifles, like wolves attacking a flock of sheep, attacked the city of Mumbai, India. Their mission was simple, to kill as many people as possible before they in turn were killed. These young men were Muslim, gathered up from small villages in Pakistan, trained and sent out to kill in the name of Allah. These young men racked up a horrifying body count, they killed 173 and wounded 308.

The reason for this post is that I just watched a HBO special I had recorded earlier. The special, "Terror in Mumbai" is only a hour long, but stunning in what it shows and details. What makes this so stunning was that Indian Intelligence was able to record and monitor cell phone calls from the terrorist and their controllers in Pakistan. These recordings were used in the documentary. One of the most chilling was when the controllers ordered one of the terrorist to shoot some hostages before the security forces could retake them. You can hear the shots as the terrorist shoots the hostages in the back of the head.

Other scenes in this documentary that will get your attention are how poorly the Indian Security services dealt with this situation. Police officers armed with high powered, bolt action rifles (WWII Enfields) threw them down and ran away. Some few who attempted to engage were limited to the 5 rounds they had in their weapons and sometimes their rifles didn't work, causing one police officer on a surveillance video they show to throw a plastic chair at one of the bad guys.

It was also interesting seeing the reaction of the terrorist to their surroundings. They were amazed at the opulence and richness of the hotels they attacked. I think that this allowed them to kill easier. You take a young man out of some mud hut village or other hell hole in Pakistan and tell him to kill all these rich, pig eating infidels and in return, you will get your reward in paradise. You can understand how easy it is to program such people. These kids had nothing and all these infidels have all this stuff that they don't and never will have. The infidels don't deserve it, while you, as a good Muslim do. Make them pay for their effrontery and defend your religion at the same time. Taking a kid with a mindset like that and molding him into a weapon is easy.

This was a kind of attack that all countries are VERY vulnerable to. They are low tech, and as long as you have someone who is willing to die to carry it out, almost unstoppable. Look at Ft. Hood as an example. I think that we will see many more of these kinds of attack in the future. We as a country should be prepared for it. Just think if these terrorist had come to America and attacked a mall on "Black Friday"

If you can, get your hands on a copy of the HBO special "Terror in Mumbai" It will open your eyes and show you the true face of the sworn enemy of the western world.

UPDATE:

I have a link here to allow you to see the documentary (as long as it last)

http://europenews.dk/en/node/24746

Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends...........

Well, I might as well share the crappy news I got last week with all my loyal readers. As you most likely are aware, I have been having problems since I underwent surgery this past June. A surgical procedure that was only suppose to keep me in the hospital 3 to 4 days, kept me in for 78 days. I had peritonitis twice and pancretitis three times and came close to taking a long dirt bath at least twice. (That I know of, I am still pretty foggy about what all went on) At that point, it dawned on me the reason that they call it medical practice, not medical sure thing.

So last Thursday I went back to my surgeon and he told me that they were going to put me back in and do some more surgery to try to fix what they screwed up as well as take out my gall bladder, since it got fried in my hospitalization. Sorta one stop shopping. The wanted to get me in right away, but I told them that they had cost me the summer, they were not going to cost me the holidays. So January is when the fun starts.

I can hardly wait..........

Road Trip Weekend............

This past weekend I took the first tentative steps to getting back out on the reenacting trail with my messmates from the Carolina Living History Guild. I still don't have all my kit together but figured that I would go down to "visit a spell" The group was doing their Civil War Federal Navy impression at the C.S.S. Neuse State Historic Site. It was good to see the fellows, I sat in the back round and watch while they talked to the public interpreting period firearms, torpedoes, artillery as well as the common seaman's life. Visitation was lighter (At least on Saturday) than expected since there were a couple of big college football games in the area. The folks that did come out were very interested in what the guys were doing so it made it all worth while.

I hope you noticed earlier that I mentioned torpedoes. For you folks not history cranks, the term torpedo in the 1860's doesn't mean the "Tin Fish" of Run Silent, Run Deep fame, but rather describe what we would call mines today. My buddy Chris of the Guild is a expert in such "infernal machines" and has quite a few reproductions of these weapons. It is surprising to the public that there was that kind of technology available in the 1860. There was both impact detonated and electrically command detonated torpedoes, which became famous with Admiral David Farragut's command of "Damn the Torpedoes, Full speed ahead!" at Mobile Bay. (Luckily, most of the torpedoes in Mobile Bay had been in the water a while so the main charges were waterlogged and failed to explode. It is said that the union sailors in Farragut's ships could hear the "pops" as the detonators went off when their ships struck the mines)

Chris also talks about tools of sabotage to include various time bombs and a hollow piece of cast iron that when painted looks like a piece of coal. The faux coal could be filled with gun powder and tossed in a coal pile used to refuel the boiler of a navy ship. When fed into a ship's firebox, the faux coal would heat up and explode, causing the ship's boiler to then explode. There is some suspicion that the steamboat Sultana fell victim to something of this nature. Up to 1800 died in that sinking, that was the worst nautical disaster in American history. Chris also tells about a box of candles that almost killed a General. This was a time bomb that was placed on a ammunition barge at the Federal Supply Depot at City Point VA. On August 9th, 1864 the bomb detonated, setting off the ammunition on the barge. The subsequent explosions killed 43 people and wounded 126. The yard of the house that the Union Commander, U.S. Grant was using as his headquarters was filled, in his own words, "Every part of the yard used as my headquarters is filled with splinters and fragments of shell" and a staff officer said "Such a rain of shot, shell, bullets, pieces of wood, iron bars and bolts, chains and missiles of every kind was never before witnessed." Just think of how history MIGHT have changed had Grant been killed in the explosion.

Chris does a remarkably good job of sharing this information with the public and does it out of his overwhelming love of the history of our country.

As I said, I couldn't pick a better bunch of folks to spend time with, such as Andrew and John my other messmates and would have loved to spend the weekend with them. However the spirit was willing, but the flesh is still pretty weak. So as the sun slowly sank in the west, I headed on home. It was well worth the trip and I was somewhat rejuvenated for the coming season. Now to just get my body healthy enough for it.

Told Ya So.............

A few weeks back or so, I made a prediction about the Ft. Hood trial. Well it looks like my prediction is coming true. And I didn't even need my magic 8-ball to help me make it.

With the Light Bringer and Eric "Greasy Thumb" Holder telling everyone and his brother that the 9/11 and Ft. Hood defendants are guilty, they are going to get solid convictions on everyone that they are going to bring to trial, they have almost guaranteed that there will be countless appeals of ANY convictions that are won against the scum that did these horrific acts. You could make a case that they might not even be able to have a trial since the comments the Ritz brothers made could make it impossible to find a fair and impartial jury to hear the case. I could just see the lawyers for the defendants looking up in the sky screaming "Thank you God!" just like a bunch of dust bowl farmers getting pelted by the first rain they have seen in years.

Now many will say that they were just trying to make the public feel better by assuring them that we would punish the bad guys no matter what. I think that is nothing more than a pile of horse crap. Both these "gentlemen" went to the finest law schools in the country. They should have known better. I mean, I am FAR from being the sharpest knife in the drawer and "I" knew they couldn't say something like that. ( I got MY law degree in the school of hard knocks as well as watching old Perry Mason and Matlock reruns when I couldn't sleep at night) So if they graduated from these fine law schools and passed the bar, I have to wonder. Have they suddenly become dumb as a bag o' hammers or was this a deliberate and calculated move on the part of the Light Bringer and his mob? I honestly don't know but I have my suspicions for what they are worth.............

Another Trip To The Twilight Zone.............

I had a very good time this weekend, which I will detail when I have a little more time, but I thought I would share this nugget with you.

As I told you, I have always hesitated reenacting the American Civil War due to the fact that there are a bunch of yahoos out there that think the war is STILL going on. Mostly these folks are on the Confederate side and to put it bluntly, they live up to the stereotype of the ignorant redneck. I can't figure out why they are out there other than to wear the uniform that more than likely would have never been able to wear in real life, or perhaps to live out some fantasy rather than to deal with their day to day reality.

I met one of those kinds of fellows this weekend, and one of my friends told me a interesting story about him. It seems that he had been popped for D.W.I. and had lost his driver's license. After applying for a provisional license, the court allowed him to have one to drive to and from work AS WELL as to reenactments. He also had to place a alcosenser in his vehicle which will not allow him to start his vehicle if he has alcohol on his breath.

His nickname is, (Wait for it) Captain Blow and Go................

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.............

Edward Woodward, R. I. P.

I found out today that English actor Edward Woodward passed away.

Mr. Woodward wasn't a "A" list actor, no major blockbusters to his credit, but he was quietly competent at what he did. The role that stood out for me and brought him to my attention was in the movie Breaker Morant. This movie, (one of my favorites, B.T.W.) is set in the Boer War. The plot of the movie deals with the courts martial of three Australian officers who while serving under British Army command were accused of executing Boer Prisoners of War. Woodward brings a sense of world weariness to his portrayal of Morant, but intersperses it with a charm that keeps the portrayal from being maudlin. Woodward's courtroom scenes in particular are well done.

Rest in Peace Mr. Woodward, and thank you for the entertainment that you gave us.

Slick Move From The Light Bringer?...........

I saw that the sub-human of Ft. Hood will be charged and tried under the U.C.M.J. (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for 13 counts of pre-meditated murder.

In the bigger scheme of things I don't have a problem with it. But my ingrained cynicism kicked in when I remembered who has the final say as to whether or not the convicted is executed. Yep, you guessed it, the commander-in-chief has the final call.

Add to that, since he does have that responsibility, he can't make ANY comments about the case, nor about Islamic terrorism because it might damage the Ft. Hood shooter's chance at getting a fair and impartial trial or even give the shooter a reason for appeal.

Now I ain't saying that this is a fact, I don't have a smoking gun to prove it. But based on the Light Bringer's more than obvious reluctance to speak in a positive light about anything relating to our war on terror and knowing how "The Chicago Mob" plays the game, I just gotta wonder if the White House has their sticky little fingers all over this case.........