About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Latest Entries

Actions Menu

Blog Roll

Other Links

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/09/2018 10:45:20

Good Morning.

9 days into 2018...and things are strangely quiet on the veteran's front.

We will continue to look in the rear-view mirror, but today only back as far as January 1. We've already had our first combat death of the year in Afghanistan, but because it was on New Year's Day, it was almost completely unnoticed. We're still at war, despite what you may have heard.



KABUL, Afghanistan -- The death of a Green Beret in a New Year's Day firefight in Nangarhar province was a grim reminder of continued violence in the deadliest province in the deadliest country where Americans are deployed.

Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin, 34, a native of Lativa who joined the Army in 2005 shortly after immigrating to the U.S., was killed while on a foot patrol in Achin district last week, the first U.S. combat death of 2018 and the eighth in Nangarhar in the past nine months.

Since March, U.S. warplanes have conducted hundreds of strikes and U.S. special operations troops have carried out hundreds more tactical operations on the ground in the province.

Nowhere is more dangerous for American troops deployed overseas. Nangarhar is one of the few places Americans have been routinely accompanying Afghan forces into battle. One-third of the 21 U.S. servicemembers killed in combat last year died there, more than in any other single spot where troops were fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Niger.

Combat deaths were far rarer in 2017 than at the height of the wars in Iraq -- in 2007 -- and Afghanistan -- in 2010 -- but the recent uptick in Nangarhar could foreshadow a rise in American bloodshed in the country as the U.S. escalates the fighting in its longest war.

Last year's combat deaths in Nangarhar all followed the intensification of a counterterrorism campaign there that's been putting U.S. troops alongside Afghan units on the front lines of the battle with a resilient Islamic State offshoot known as ISIS-Khorasan, or ISIS-K. The group has taken root there in recent years, where the Taliban also operate, making it a three-sided war.

The U.S.-led NATO mission is poised follow suit elsewhere in Afghanistan by putting more advisers and their force protection troops with conventional Afghan tactical units battling the Taliban insurgency. A new campaign launched in the southern province of Helmand last month has already stepped up the fighting with airstrikes and special operations ground raids against the Taliban-linked drug trade there.

It's all part of the latest shift in the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, which President Donald Trump announced in August, giving U.S. forces here wider leeway to attack Taliban insurgents and has sent several thousand more troops to support Afghan fighting units. There are around 14,000 U.S. troops in the country this year, up from 11,000 through much of 2017.


Thanks to Mondo's friend, we're suddenly reminded that the Winter Olympics aren't that far away. They're in Pyeongchang, South Korea this time, and of course noplace in South Korea is that far away from the North. I've long been of the opinion that if Kim Jong-Un was going to do something, it would be then, but suddenly it doesn't look that way anymore. North and South are actually going to talk about the Olympics, and there may actually be a northern contingent crossing the DMZ.


Top officials from North and South Korea will hold their first official dialogue in more than two years on Tuesday after months of high tensions over Pyongyang's weapons ambitions.

The long-stalled talks come after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un indicated in his New Year's speech that Pyongyang was willing to send a delegation to the Winter Games in the South.

Seoul responded with an offer of a high-level dialogue, and last week the hotline between the neighbors was restored after being suspended for almost two years.

The talks at Panmunjom, the truce village in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, will largely focus on the North's participation in next month's Winter Olympics in the South.

Seoul has been keen to proclaim the event in Pyeongchang, just 80 kilometres south of the DMZ, a "peace Olympics" in the wake of ICBM and nuclear tests by the North -- but it needs the North to attend to make the description meaningful.

If the North agrees, one of the top agenda items will be whether the two Koreas' sportspeople make joint entrances to the opening and closing ceremonies, as they did for Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and the 2006 Winter Games in Torino.

The size and membership of the North Korean delegation and their accommodation -- widely expected to be paid for by Seoul -- will also be discussed.

The group may stay in a cruise ship in Sokcho, about an hour's drive from the Olympic venue -- which would enable their movements to be closely monitored and controlled.

With only a handful of qualified winter sports athletes, analysts say North Korea is likely to send significant numbers of cheerleaders to the Pyeongchang Games, which run from February 9 to 25.

Hundreds of young, good-looking female North Korean cheerleaders have created a buzz at three previous international sporting events in the South.

"For North Korea to achieve its desired effects and to attract attention, it will have to dispatch its beauty cheering squad," said An Chan-Il, a defector-turned-researcher who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies.


But of course, Kim and Trump are still spending many hours a day swinging their dicks around, and one of them may yet hit that "button", but only time will tell.

And we'll leave it at that this morning...
 
 

40 comments (Latest Comment: 01/09/2018 22:01:50 by Mondobubba)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati

Add a Comment

Please login to add a comment...


Comments:

Order comments Newest to Oldest  Refresh Comments

Comment by Scoopster on 01/09/2018 14:09:50
Mornin' all!

Today my background music is Games Done Quick.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 14:30:09


Good morning?

Comment by wickedpam on 01/09/2018 14:35:51
Morning

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 15:00:17
Top o' the mornin!

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 15:03:28
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?

Comment by wickedpam on 01/09/2018 15:10:06
Quote by Raine:
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?



Not sure, maybe someone took assholes phone so he can't tweet in the bathroom before his 11am meeting.

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 15:13:27
Somewhat slow yes. I was listening to the NPR this morning like ya do. There was a story about all the Salvadorans who are here on Temporary Protected Status. Since there is a bureaucracy in place to manage all these people there have to be reports written. So, there is somebody as either State or DHS who's job is

TPS Reports!

Thanks, I'll be here all week. Try the veal!





Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 15:30:22
Quote by Mondobubba:
Somewhat slow yes. I was listening to the NPR this morning like ya do. There was a story about all the Salvadorans who are here on Temporary Protected Status. Since there is a bureaucracy in place to manage all these people there have to be reports written. So, there is somebody as either State or DHS who's job is

TPS Reports!

Thanks, I'll be here all week. Try the veal!



That was indeed a good one!


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 15:31:04
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?



Not sure, maybe someone took assholes phone so he can't tweet in the bathroom before his 11am meeting.
if he had one ounce of shame it should be for what he did last night.


Comment by Scoopster on 01/09/2018 15:34:19


There's a worldwide shortage of gaming graphics cards for computers because of the price spikes in cryptocurrency. I can't find the card I want for my new PC in stock ANYWHERE, nor can I find a single model similar to it. The lowest price I can find for any version of that particular card is about $700 (about $200 more than the model I wanted).

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 15:38:09
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 15:39:23
Quote by Scoopster:


There's a worldwide shortage of gaming graphics cards for computers because of the price spikes in cryptocurrency. I can't find the card I want for my new PC in stock ANYWHERE, nor can I find a single model similar to it. The lowest price I can find for any version of that particular card is about $700 (about $200 more than the model I wanted).


Effing Bitcoin miners with their dodgy jury-rigged massively parallel arrayed computers. Jerks, ruining things for everybody else.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 16:04:06
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?



Not sure, maybe someone took assholes phone so he can't tweet in the bathroom before his 11am meeting.

I am not the only one:






Comment by wickedpam on 01/09/2018 16:21:04
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?



Not sure, maybe someone took assholes phone so he can't tweet in the bathroom before his 11am meeting.

I am not the only one:







We have becomes so used to "shoe's dropping" that when its quiet none of us know what to make of it and we all still brace for impact.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 16:59:32
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
IS it me or does it seems like a slow news morning?



Not sure, maybe someone took assholes phone so he can't tweet in the bathroom before his 11am meeting.

I am not the only one:







We have becomes so used to "shoe's dropping" that when its quiet none of us know what to make of it and we all still brace for impact.
Yeah, I think you're right.


Comment by livingonli on 01/09/2018 17:12:53
Conversations with the lawyers, perhaps? Did someone finally point out to him that his tweets are an admission of guilt?

Comment by Scoopster on 01/09/2018 18:11:15
Dianne Feinstein has had enough of this shit - she just leaked the Fusion GPS testimony.




Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 18:17:17
Quote by Scoopster:
Dianne Feinstein has had enough of this shit - she just leaked the Fusion GPS testimony.


HOLY CRAP!


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 18:31:42
Quote by livingonli:
Conversations with the lawyers, perhaps? Did someone finally point out to him that his tweets are an admission of guilt?

I think we just found out why so quite.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 18:54:56
I am reading this thing and it is pretty fascinating.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 19:07:40




Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/09/2018 19:15:55
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 19:22:39
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 19:23:16
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?





Comment by livingonli on 01/09/2018 19:28:45
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?




Yes, kids, Righties are that predictable.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/09/2018 19:32:35
Quote by livingonli:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?




Yes, kids, Righties are that predictable.

You laugh, but by rights Ollie North should have been placed in front of a pock-marked concrete wall with a blindfold instead of spewing bullshit on Fox News. And.....oh look, the Bundy Bunch is going free.


Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/09/2018 19:37:12
I'm not reading it yet, because I just finished Chapter 7......I'll just get confused.


Comment by livingonli on 01/09/2018 19:44:30
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by livingonli:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?




Yes, kids, Righties are that predictable.

You laugh, but by rights Ollie North should have been placed in front of a pock-marked concrete wall with a blindfold instead of spewing bullshit on Fox News. And.....oh look, the Bundy Bunch is going free.

And it's amazing how many people who are supposedly in the "law and order" party are allowed to get away with breaking the law. The judge who overturned North's conviction even admitted he was biased to the North cause so he shouldn't have even been hearing the case.

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 19:47:05
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by livingonli:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?




Yes, kids, Righties are that predictable.

You laugh, but by rights Ollie North should have been placed in front of a pock-marked concrete wall with a blindfold instead of spewing bullshit on Fox News. And.....oh look, the Bundy Bunch is going free.


Um the Bundys are going free because the prosecutors done fucked up.

In one of the least snarkiest things from Wonkette ever:

Navarro, who had previously declared a mistrial in December, said in today’s hearing that the federal prosecutors had willfully violated the defendants’ due process rights by failing to turn over potentially useful information to the defense. Navarro said, “The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated,” because even anti-government jerks with bizarre theories about the Constitution still have rights."


Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/09/2018 19:52:57
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by livingonli:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
So will Hannity be screaming for Feinstein's arrest for treason tonight, and that everything that Mueller has is now invalidated because this was leaked?


Maybe?




Yes, kids, Righties are that predictable.

You laugh, but by rights Ollie North should have been placed in front of a pock-marked concrete wall with a blindfold instead of spewing bullshit on Fox News. And.....oh look, the Bundy Bunch is going free.


Um the Bundys are going free because the prosecutors done fucked up.

In one of the least snarkiest things from Wonkette ever:

Navarro, who had previously declared a mistrial in December, said in today’s hearing that the federal prosecutors had willfully violated the defendants’ due process rights by failing to turn over potentially useful information to the defense. Navarro said, “The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated,” because even anti-government jerks with bizarre theories about the Constitution still have rights."

I fully realize that's why they're going free.

And Ollie North didn't get executed as a traitor because of a fuckup.

With a compromised Justice Department THIS could be a fuckup.


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 19:57:11
Quote by trojanrabbit:
I'm not reading it yet, because I just finished Chapter 7......I'll just get confused.

Fair enough.

from page 58-59:

Q. (Feinstein LAwyer) Just to be clear, when you say "in the current example," what are you referring to?
A. (simson) 2016 presidential election.

Q. And then, by extension, when you're talking about an international businessman, I presume you're talking about then candidate now President Trump?
A. Yes.

Q. I do want to ask you more about that, but before we get to that, in general, when you do the political or campaign work you're equally free to follow the facts wherever they lead you and the firm Fusion GPS?
A. Yes, that's right.


Now this is getting interesting...

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 20:04:50
previous questions (for clarity)

A. Yes. There's a limited number of examples because we don't do a lot of it, but, again, my specialty is really sort of financial investigations and business practices. In the last -- you know, in a current example we have a businessman who had a far-flung business empire all around the world. So, you know, that was a natural subject for me. So we do, we investigate multinational enterprises on a frequent basis.




Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 20:21:17
http://www.victorian-era.org/images/modern-fainting-couch.jpg<br>

They wouldn't answer the question if the GOP hired Fusion GPS. That said, it's been reported for months it was Free Beacon.

Free Beacon.



Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 20:26:57
Quote by Raine:
http://www.victorian-era.org/images/modern-fainting-couch.jpg


They wouldn't answer the question if the GOP hired Fusion GPS. That said, it's been reported for months it was Free Beacon.

Free Beacon.



This is pretty much an open secret if you have been paying attention to the Steele Dossier. I remember hearing that the original funding came from conservatives before Donnie one the nomination when the whole thing went public last year.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 20:30:02


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 20:38:13
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
http://www.victorian-era.org/images/modern-fainting-couch.jpg


They wouldn't answer the question if the GOP hired Fusion GPS. That said, it's been reported for months it was Free Beacon.

Free Beacon.



This is pretty much an open secret if you have been paying attention to the Steele Dossier. I remember hearing that the original funding came from conservatives before Donnie one the nomination when the whole thing went public last year.
We only learned about the Free Beacon in October.

this testimony was in August.

Yeah, we've been paying attention. The thing is, this testimony is only today made public.


Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 20:39:54
Point being, Fusion was protecting its clients while it was discovering disturbing things about tRump.

Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 21:37:58
BOOM. Feinstein has zero fucks to give today!








Comment by Raine on 01/09/2018 21:39:18
MORE VIDEO.






Comment by Mondobubba on 01/09/2018 22:01:50
Quote by Raine:
Point being, Fusion was protecting its clients while it was discovering disturbing things about tRump.


Like they are supposed to be doing.

Show All

Rev 3.7; Copyright � 2007-2017 by BobberBlogs�