Diversity Thursday II: Electric Boogaloo

Ahhh, yes -- the Generations respond ...

What are the younger generations to do with Boomers and their fellow travelers who just can't seem to exit a 60s-70s racial construct and therefore pollute the whole cultural pool we are trying to swim in?

Simple; you make fun of them.

Hat tip Allah.

Diversity Thursday

Man, I have good spies.

Looks like the overcaffeinated Diversity Bullies got a bit carried away last month.

From: [REDACTED], Laura [REDACTED] CIV COMNAVAIRFOR, N1[REDACTED]
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 14:57
To: [REDACTED]
Cc: [REDACTED]
Subject: Illegal offering of Blues Rides/Carrier & Sub embarks for Diversity Essay contest

Diversity Directorate and CNRC,

I am extremely concerned with the following link/advertisement I just came across. (Thanks to NAVCO for calling to inquire about this.)

http://www.ahetems.org/undergraduate/u-s-navy-essay-competition/

As you all are probably aware, the Navy can not legally offer rides in Blue Angel jets or offer carrier or submarine embarks as a prize/reward/give-away for contests.

The POC for submissions for this is obviously a SHPE representative. I was going to send this email directly to the listed email address for submissions, but thought it best N134 or CNRC handle it due to the obvious tie-ins.

Let's keep our JAGs from hitting the roof if we can and get a quick handle on this one.

The POC listed is for submissions for this contest is: ahetems@shpe.org


R/
Laura [REDACTED]
Diversity Program Manager
COMNAVAIRFOR and NAE
(619) 767-[REDACTED] / DSN 577-[REDACTED]
Email: laura[REDACTED]@navy.mil

Here is the website in question, in case it has changed - here is the cache.

Lovely things; awww heck, I'll publish it here.

Hispanic students are strongly encouraged to enter the Navy Diversity Essay Competition for a chance to win your choice of these once-in-a- life-time opportunities:

• Passenger ride on a U.S. Navy Blue Angel

• Sail aboard a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier

• Embark in a U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine

HOW TO ENTER

Entries must meet the all requirements:

* Cover Page: Must be a separate page from the essay. Must include the title of your essay, your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, a 200 word (maximum length) biography, and the word count of your essay.
* Essay: Must be 1,250 words or less addressing the following topic: “Service to Country as an Engineer.”
* Do not write your name or any other personal identifier on your essay. All essays will be reviewed as if unknown author to give all essays an equal and unbiased review.
* Only write the title of your essay and the total word count at the top of each page of your essay. This will be a unique combination.
* Photographs are encouraged as supporting documents. Digital photos must be at least 600dpi; printed photos must be at least 4”x6”.
* Your submission must be an original analytical and/or interpretive work not currently submitted or previously published elsewhere.

DEADLINE

Must be postmarked by September 10, 2009 or emailed by 5:00pm PST, September 10, 2009.

ELIGIBILITY

* SHPE student member pursuing a STEM degree in an accredited U.S. university or community college.
* Must have a minimum of 3.0 GPA.
* Must be at least 18 years old.
* SHPE membership application can be submitted with your essay entry. Visit www.shpe.org to become a member of SHPE.

SUBMISSION

Entries can be made via email or regular mail. Email entries should be sent to [REDACTED]@shpe.org. Hard copies of essays and pictures must be mailed to the AHETEMS Office with the following address:

AHETEMS Inc.
c/o Navy Diversity Essay Competition
UT-Arlington, College of Engineering
416 Yates Street - Rm 619
Arlington, TX 76019

SELECTION PROCESS

* AHETEMS will select 10 essays for a follow up interview.
* Notifications will be sent by October 7, 2009.
* Interviews will be conducted on site at the 2009 SHPE Conference on October 29, 2009.
* Winners will be announced during the Gala Banquet on October 31, 2009.

AWARDS

First, second, and third place winners will have their choice of award in respective order.

• Passenger ride on a U.S. Navy Blue Angel

• Sail aboard a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier

• Embark in a U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine

NOTE: The individual who selects the Blue Angel ride must abide and qualify by all regulations as set forth in the Blue Angels support manual. All top prize winners are required to submit a personal account of their experience for each event to both AHETEMS and the Navy Recruiting Command no later than two weeks after execution, to be published in the SHPE Magazine.

Navy Diversity Essay Competition
Commander, Navy Recruiting Command
5722 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38054
CONTACT
For more information, please contact the AHETEMS Office at [REDACTED]@shpe.org or (817) 272-[REDACTED].

What do you say a brown haired, brown eyed "Black Irish" Patrick O'Malley from San Diego might make the pre-interview cut before a blond haired, blue eyed Tim Gonzalez (they are out there) would?

'Dems taste better 'dan 'coon ...

...but they are a little boney though.

Byron, when will you be able to get them at Bono's?

...and yes, I have eaten both Iguana and Raccoon.

No Stalin .... no peace?

I am going to make a reach here and assume that many of you out there are big "alternative history" buffs.

In Part 3/5 of a fascinating series on Peter Robinson's Uncommon Knowledge at NRO, he talks with Christopher Hitchens and Robert Service about a question twittered to them,

What if Trotsky, rather than Stalin, attained control of the Soviet Union?

Very interesting take on what Europe could have seen well before National Socialism came to the fore in Germany.

Cold you imagine a war in the 1920s with Germany, Italy, France, and the UK allied against a Soviet Union with active Communist rebellion in all three nations? A Spanish Civil War writ large with, once again, Poland and the nations of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire squeezed in the middle? This time - no American troops as no way Trotsky would make that mistake and a 1920s USA was even more passive than the 1930s USA.

The interview is a discussion on Service's upcoming book, Trotsky: A Biography. It should be out in November.

What is it with all the bowing?

My father would be having a cow. I can hear him now,

"Stand up straight d@mnit. He's no better than you are."

First a Saudi, then a Hawaiian, now a Dane.

Bad national habit.

Afghanistan Update

Uncle Sam taking back the keys moves apace.

NATO’s governing body approved a plan on Tuesday to reorganize the alliance’s command structure in Afghanistan by setting up a new headquarters to handle the day-to-day running of the war.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the new Intermediate Joint Headquarters will be commanded by U.S. Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez. Rodriguez participated in Tuesday’s deliberations of the North Atlantic Council governing body by videoconference along with his boss, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The decision is part of a reorganization of the U.S. and NATO command structure aimed at easing the pressure on McChrystal by removing his burden of the day-to-day operation of the war. It is similar to the model used in Iraq, where overall command of the multinational forces was under a four-star American general, while a three-star general ran daily operations.

NATO has about 64,000 troops — half of them Americans — in Afghanistan. The new headquarters will not control the separate U.S. contingent of about 10,000 soldiers that is deployed along the border with Pakistan, Appathurai said.

NATO has been measured for over six years since they took over and have been found wanting.

If you want the best reporting out there though, you need to check in with Michael Yon on a regular basis. If you can, throw something in his tip jar as he needs your support to keep this up.

Retro Wednesday

Barbers Point based VR-8 flew R5Ds (C-54s) from west coast CONUS to Guam.
They still employed latitude flying. Pick a latitude north or south of destination
by sunsight. Dead reckon the long. Then fly the appropriate heading until picking
up the beacon. Ameilia wasn't so good at that.

Midway Island and Somoa.