Against A Dark Background

King George V- Class Battleships: Shipcraft 2 by Rogar Chesneau

The second volume in a new series providing ship modellers with all they need to know about a famous class of warship and associated model kits.
The five battleships of the King George V Class were the most modern to serve the Royal Navy in World War II; all rendered invaluable service in the war effort, and, indeed, the first two could be credited with influencing the very course of the conflict. Instrumental in the sinking of the battleship Bismarck, they bought about a fundamental shift in German naval policy, the emphasis moving away from heavy surface ships and towards the U-boat arm. With its unparalleled level of visual information- colour schemes, models, line drawings and photographs-it is simply the best reference for any model-maker setting out to build one these great battleships.

If you’re going to apply that logic, then you should also credit PRINCE OF WALES with changing the course of the war in the Pacific, sealing the loss of Singapore, and ending the British Empire.

That being said, I’d love to have a copy of this book!

Argentina’s military threat raises fears over Falklands - Telegraph

Argentina raised the prospect of posting military forces in the Antarctic region yesterday, with the announcement of plans to use troops to defend its interests.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner told defence chiefs that Argentina must be prepared to assert its sovereignty and protect its natural resources, as nations compete to claim areas of the region believed to be rich in oil.

Actually, the article is about military tensions over Antarctica.

The Saturday Profile - Push for New Direction Leads to Sudden Dead End for a 40-Year Naval Career - Biography - NYTimes.com

His management style was criticized; his on-the-record comments about policy raised eyebrows.

Some of the issues were petty: the injection of ceremonial Navy traditions to a gritty command never before headed by an admiral, including the designation of the command’s main stairwell as off limits to all but generals and admirals, and the creation of a private dining room where office space had been.

The Saturday Profile - Push for New Direction Leads to Sudden Dead End for a 40-Year Naval Career - Biography - NYTimes.com

His management style was criticized; his on-the-record comments about policy raised eyebrows.

Some of the issues were petty: the injection of ceremonial Navy traditions to a gritty command never before headed by an admiral, including the designation of the command’s main stairwell as off limits to all but generals and admirals, and the creation of a private dining room where office space had been.

Rescue hinged on fake ‘international mission’ - CNN.com

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, senior military commanders and other freed hostages also spoke — Uribe called the rescue mission “an unbelievable military achievement.”

“Today the armed forces of Colombia, the army of this country, our soldiers and policemen are entering the pages of heroes of humanity,” the president said. “They have written the name of Colombia on a golden mold of the democratic world.”

This is no exaggeration. Read the detailed account of how the Army infiltrated the rebels and set up a cinematic helicopter rescue.  Well done.

Hostage takers are complete bastards. If you doubt this, read some of the accounts of Ingrid Betancourt’s years in captivity.

The contrarian has to ask me, is the Colombian Army’s outstanding performance partly a justification of years of training assistance by the U.S. Army?

Amazon.com: sdae102’s review of BB-67 MONTANA, U.S. Navy Battleship: Why S…

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding, March 10, 2008
By sdae102
A unique volume that depicts USS Montana as if the ship had been completed The photos of the model work are excellent. And the artwork of the ship by noted naval artist wayne scarpaci is outstanding.

It’s really heartening that this guy liked what I did.

I am a best-selling battleship author. Go figure!

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Amazon.com: Torture and Democracy: Books: Darius Rejali

Darius was a friend of mine at Swarthmore. I learned more from him than from any other single person there, faculty included. This is an extremely important book.

David Shayler’s former partner reveals: How the bullying State crushed him | the Daily Mail

I had a ringside seat for the ‘Get Shayler’ operation because I was an MI5 officer at the same time (1991-96) and also his girlfriend and co-campaigner until last year when I ended my relationship with a broken man.

I witnessed first-hand the extraordinary psychological, physical and emotional burden of being a whistleblower when the full power of the secret State is launched against you.

We then both moved to G Branch, the international counter-terrorist division, with David heading the Libyan section.

It was here that he witnessed a catalogue of errors and crimes: the illegal phone-tapping of a prominent Guardian journalist, the failure of MI5 to prevent the bombing of the Israeli embassy in London in July 1994, which resulted in the wrongful conviction of two innocent Palestinians, and the attempted assassination of Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. So we resigned from MI5 after deciding to go public to force an inquiry into the Gaddafi plot.

So these two loons wrecked their lives to protect Gaddafi. Noble, but misguided …

Ares Homepage

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Aircraft Demonstrator. So much for pilots.

Technorati Tags: X-47, UCAV

James Fallows

The same thing happened at the second meeting — discussion from other commissioners about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, anarchy of failed states, etc, and then this one woman warning about the looming Chinese menace. And the third meeting too. Perhaps more.

Finally, in frustration, this woman left the commission.

“Her name was Lynne Cheney,” Hart said. “I am convinced that if it had not been for 9/11, we would be in a military showdown with China today.”

Let’s try this story again and replace Lynne Cheney with …

Marilyn Quayle?
Betty Ford?
Tipper Gore?
Mrs. Spiro Agnew?

So many of these problems trace back to Bush allowing his Vice President to be more than a figurehead. Here’s hoping that future Presidents will go back to the days of selecting powerless, amiable lightweights for Vice President and keeping them on a very short leash.

Technorati Tags: China. Lynne Cheney, James Fallows