Horse soldiers on the way ...

Remember the lament that went out from here in JAN 05?

It has been a concern of mine for awhile that Hollywierd has not made any effort to tell the story of this Global War. From early on there have been many opportunities, heck the cavalry charge in the start of the Afghanistan operation would make a great movie.

...and again in JUL 05?

Hollywierd continues to demonstrate its hate of America as we are almost 4 yrs post-9/11 and there have been NO major efforts to make a film of any substance about the war from a major movie house. The mounted cavalry charge with B-52s early on in OEF, I though would be a no-brainer. I was there for the planning. I have inside (very funny) UNCLAS info for them direct from C5F briefings about saddles, horses, etc. Email me. Make a movie. Funny, inspiring, motivation, patriotic. Did I mention it had a cavalry charge by US Soldiers? Rumors from 2002 ... then ... nothing. Sigh. Sometimes.....

Well hot, fracking d@mn.

Doug Stanton's upcoming book Horse Soldiers is coming to the big screen at the hands of uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney, which just recently acquired the screen rights. The story revolves around a band of elite Special Forces and CIA operatives who secretly invaded Afghanistan post-9/11 on horseback and helped Afghan fighters capture the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and topple the Taliban. In Horse Soldiers, the operatives helped orchestrate the invasion by bribing local warlords and using high-tech communications to coordinate the assault and equip the Afghan soldiers. They also held off an ambush during the surrender of hundreds of Taliban troops. Scribner will publish the book in May. Stanton previously wrote In Harm's Way, the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during WWII. Warner Bros. was at one point developing a big screen adaptation. Bruckheimer has G-Force and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on the horizon

Oh Shipmate ... don't be a tool. You know the book is always better than the movie.

The book is out and ready. Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan.

Hat tip Dennis.

We almost went to war for this?

One way to wake up an old Cold Warrior is to mention one location - the Kola Peninsula.

In MoscowTopNews is yet another photo spread of what was once one of the most important bits of real estate in the world - one that people were willing to die for to get pictures out of.

Sad in a way - but so is much of that former empire.

Take some time (watch for the "more" tag if you find an area of interest) - abandoned bones of the empire here, here, here, and here.

If you like scary stories - read this.

Headed the way of the Talosians?

World population will hit 7 billion by 2012, according to a recent United Nations report. Given that we just hit the 6 billion mark in October 1999, it is easy to conclude that there are just too many people in the world. How are we ever going to overcome global warming, feed the masses, get that beachfront property, let alone find parking, if the population keeps jumping by nearly one billion per decade?

The good news is that's not going to happen again. If you need another megatrend to worry about, fixate instead on the growing prospects for world depopulation and what it means for you and your children (assuming you have any).

Yes, human population is still growing in some places dramatically so. But at the same time, a strange new phenomenon is spreading around the globe, one whose very existence contradicts the deepest foundations of our modern mind-set.

Darwinism presupposes, and modern biology teaches, that all organisms breed to the limit of their available resources. Yet starting in the world's richest, best-fed nations during the 1970s,and now spreading throughout the developing world, we find birthrates falling below the levels needed to avoid long-term, and in many instances, short-term, population loss. The phenomenon has spread beyond Europe and Asia to Latin America.

The Talosians were petering out too .... though understandable as I didn't see many women and who would mate with them anyway?

Good news? More places to hunt!

So, did you like 28 Days Later

And 28 Weeks Later? Then this will get your attention.

A highly infectious strain of mutant rabies is spreading among animals across the state of Arizona, says National Geographic News. The new strain probably first appeared in bats before it spread to skunks and foxes in the area. The frightening thing about this mutant virus is the way it is communicated, say officials at the Centers for Disease Control. Unlike most rabies strains, it’s not carried from animal to animal through bites. Instead, it is spread through close social contact, like the common cold or flu. At this point, the transfer of mutant rabies from animals to humans “should be a major concern,” says molecular virologist Hinh Ly. Fearful that infection could get to humans by contact between pets and such wide-ranging wild animals as the fox, officials in the city of Flagstaff have issued a 90-day pet quarantine.

...and you thought the flu had normal people wearing useless masks in public.

The change in AFG

This started out as a much longer post - but I have decided to just boil this down to the basics without a bunch of the usual commentary.

I have been saying, rightly, that all the things happening in AFG right now are not "new" - that they are the results of what has been in the work for well over a year. That is true. That is no longer going to the the case though.

Gen. McKiernan's firing should signal one thing to all - the USA (and because it has not choice, NATO) is going to change radically what it does in AFG sooner more than later. You won't see the changes on the ground for at least 6 months, but they are coming.

The ground truth for the why and how Gen. McKiernan was fired will come out at some time, I don't want to add to the speculation about it. That is looking backwards, I want to talk about forward.

I want you to focus on two open source reports that I believe will shine some light on where we are going. First for Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;

Mullen said additional forces and new tactics can help the United States turn a discouraging tide in Afghanistan. He said he was hopeful that "in the next 12- to 24 months, that we can stem the trends which have been going very badly in Afghanistan the last three years."

There may be a bit of circular reporting on this, but the 24-month mark is starting to creep more and more into the picture.

Second, is this little window into McKiernan's firing;

Unidentified Pentagon officials and fellow officers were quoted today saying McKiernan was too conventional in his thinking, that he had tried (and failed) to force out the allegedly corrupt Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and that as Nato commander he was too chummy with the mostly flaky European allies. In this latter respect, this week's developments mark another stage in the "re-Americanisation" of the Afghan war.

The problem is, the charges against McKiernan don't stick. In a media briefing last autumn, shortly after taking command, McKiernan set out a clear, thought-through, and politically subtle strategy. More troops were needed, especially in the south, after years of neglect due to Iraq. But reinforcements alone were not the answer.

"We can win all the tactical battles but that doesn't mean we win. To win, we have to win the battle of ideas," he said. "We must define winning in Afghan terms: meaning improved security, reduced civilian casualties, trustworthy government, economic and social progress."

Bingo. Those familiar with the plan in AFG know that there was little conventional or excessively kinetic about the plan. It was about as comprehensive and integrated as you can get.

What we may want to look at here is a bit of strategic impatience. NATO is slow. Working with the international community is slow. If you driven by a calendar-based plan instead of a conditions-based plan, then you do not have time to talk with your Global Partners; you just do what you want and let a "Coalition of the Willing" catch up to you when they can.

In a great irony, it looks like the Obama Administration if totally repudiating not the Bush Doctrine, but he Kerry Doctrine. Sound like they want out soon, not out right. A valid opinion, but one that will not likely be a success in the long run. If they sacked McKiernan because he was too interested in working with our Allies and the international community than was the new Administration's taste - then all those on the foreign policy Left need to take a powder - you just became a charactiture of the Bush protest puppets you built in mid-decade.

Allies and friends be damned. We are doing it our way. Is that the new line in Afghanistan? Funny, but there it is.

The one hope we have is that LTG McChrystal and Rodriguez can convince the new Administration to go condition-based vice calendar based. If we are going to be calendar based, then to be blunt, we might as well leave this year before the passes freeze over. AFG cannot be fixed or won in 24 months. This is at least a 10 year project - as it will take 10 years to build momentum towards a more literate society with the 8 year old whose behind is in his school seat.

Let's hope this change isn't towards the calendar based approach. If it is, we'll be back.

Another future Sailor ....

He can join our wardroom anytime; but he will be the Admin Queen for most of deployment - mostly because I think he will do a great job. Skippy, whatchathink?

A teenager decided to give his parents a nice surprise by painting a 60ft-long penis on the new roof of their £1million house.

Inspired by watching a documentary on Google Earth, 18-year-old Rory McInnes decided to give aerial observers an eyeful, with the aid of a tin of white paint.

The new flat roof of Andy and Clare McInnes' house in Hungerford, Berkshire, had recently been completed by builders. Painting the enormous member took Rory only half an hour.

There it lurked for around twelve months, until a passing helicopter pilot spotted it, and let his passengers take photos. Fortunately for Rory, he was safely on the other side of the world when his parents found out, on a gap-year in Brazil.

AW1 - I think you know what sons like that are, don't 'cha - I think they become OS's or Army types?

Combine it with Fleet Week, and perfection!

You know I am a big fan of the Balts - Estonians mostly - but the whole bunch in general.

Now, even more so.

Several hundred blondes marched through the Latvian capital Riga Sunday in a bid cheer up the crisis-hit Baltic nation, suffering the worst recession in the 27-member EU.

Led by an orchestra, the first-ever blond parade featured women dressed in pink and white, some accompanied by lapdogs, in a charity fund-raising event that organisers hope will become an annual event.

"I'm not stupid. I'm beautiful and I'll prove it," blonde participant high school student Ilona Zigure told AFP.

Organisers said they were determined to bring positive energy to their country, expected to see its economy contract by 16 percent this year.

The parade is part of the what they are calling Blonde Weekend, which will also features a blonde golf tournament, a little lady fashion show, an evening ball, and a children's drawing competition.

"It's a great time to spend in the parade and contribute to a charity," said Ieva, one blonde spectator.

"Finally something different, something positive because I'm tired of hearing about the crisis," said another, 70-year old Ausma.

The event attracted many locals and puzzled tourists.

Following the parade, blondes climbed into open-topped cars and drove to the local shopping centre to go shopping.

The money collected during the event will be donated to support children's safety and playgrounds for disabled children in Riga and across Latvia.

The organisers want to make May 31 official Blondes' Day in Latvia.

Latvia, a small Baltic nation with the population of 2.3 million people has been going through the deepest recession in the European Union, which it joined in 2004.

When you look at what the Baltic Republics have been through in living memory - you can see that a 'lil recession isn't really all that worth getting worked up over.

And yes, this video is required. Ahem.