26 March 2011

QOTD: The World is Just a Trailer Park

While debating Canada taking over the NATO command of Libyan actions, and adding in the irony that the Canadian government just took a vote of no confidence in the PM (which passed), AK Fan and I lamented for the days of the cold war.  Simply because during that era, at least we knew who the players were.  From AK Fan:
The world truly is a fucking mess.  Like we've joked about before, you ALMOST have to miss the cold war.  Sure we were always on the edge of destruction, but you have the US/NATO and you have the USSRF.  Everyone else stayed the fuck out of their way.
Pure and simple, the two major players kept each other in check.  Yes, there were proxy wars and actions on the periphery, but for the most part, the world was a fairly stable place.  The US also did not need to have this policy of freedom export upon the level that we do today, knowing full well that we might find ourselves up against Ivan himself if we over stepped our bounds and threatened his interests.  The cold war kind acted as it's own mediator in a civilized suburban neighborhood.  There were rules of detente along with weapons inspectors (the good old Reagan doctrine of "Trust but Verify").  Of course, the clandestine game was probably at its best during that era which gave us some of the best books and movies of all time.  

Unfortunately, as I analogized, the world has degraded into that of a proverbial trailer park.
 The world is really a big cluster fuck; since the fall of the wall, it has turned into one big trailer park.  Unfortunately, I think that a trailer park could manage the world better than the numb-skulls running it.  On the economy they'd just say "Fuck you, you didn't pay your loan, so we put your pick-em-up-truck on the record and toed yous ass down to the junk yards, now leamme alone so I can drink ma beer."
Never one to be outdone, AK Fan makes the analogy even simpler:
See, right now the world is a trailer park.  The problem is the US is the cop who tries to keep order but, while he's there to enforce the law, he's also fucking half the wives in the park.  Further, he's helping them pay their rent with $20's he prints up on his HP copier.  At some point, it just can't continue. 
Folks, this is the world in which we live...Welcome to the Trailerhood

Human Targets

While most of us would not advocate to be Human Target(s), it has to be exceptionally nerve racking and scarry to REALLY be a human sniper target

Brit SpecOps guys (and their NCOs) do appear to have just as much moxie as their Yank counterparts. 

Tip of the Spear: USCG Response Team Vid

A pretty cool vid from the Military Times, about the Tactical Response team the the US Coast Guard employees for territorial water (and I would assume even foreign water) hijackings. 

All I have to say is that operators have big pairs of brass ones, along with exceptional skills developed over numerous repeated training runs. 

Quick Action (NOT!)

Well, THAT didn't take long.

USA not pulling back on its involvement in Libya.  Herm...O-man keeping his promises or at least doing what he says?  Noooooooooooooo...that's for common folk, and after all, he's important!  He's the most talented orator since FDR!

Wired's assessment?   "As they stand up, we sit down [to stay a long while]."  It's just the current doctrine of intervention by force is more like a bad game of musical chairs.  Would someone finally shut off the music, permanently? 

Sub-Tech Upgrades

Sub-Tech is truly, super cool.  Even cooler are the pictures from the Arctic where development of new sub-comm systems is taking place.

I guess I really should stop reading the fictions books about subs and read the real books about subs.