Heroes

[GoCubsGo]

Recognition to all the veterans who served and did the best they could with what they were assigned, and recognition also to those who refused and drew attention to the unpopularity of unnecessary war.

I am officially a "veteran" and decided Veterans' Day would be a good time to re-enact some of the most significant time I spent in service to the country. So I went to the beach.

Did you drink beer patriotaclly?

[O Really]

I don't drink anything that comes in a red white and blue can, but I'm having a hero sandwich.

[O Really]

So proudly we served.
Watch to the end. It's sad.
https://vimeo.com/82481348

[Vrede too]

So proudly we served.
Watch to the end. It's sad.
https://vimeo.com/82481348

That looked difficult and demanding. The "heroes" MAY yet return.

[GoCubsGo]

So proudly we served.
Watch to the end. It's sad.
https://vimeo.com/82481348

Tough duty.

Hope you're getting treatment for your PTSD.

[O Really]

Yeah, that was some nice time. I wasn't there yet when that vid was taken, but that's really the way it was. There were only about 150ish guys working there, and lots of wives, girl friends and kids. The site was directly on the beach, and sitting on the beach you could see the snow-capped 8,000 ft Mt. Ida (yes the "mountain in Crete" from all the crossword puzzles) On-site there were clubs with live entertainment and casino-type equipment, cinema, bowling alley (actually duck pins, which was fun), library, dining staffed by Greek cooks. We worked rotating 8-hour shifts - 4 days working evenings, day off, 4 days working nights, day off, 4 days working days and 4 days off. But actually, in some jobs one guy could work two desks so a lot of time we worked only every other shift.

I had the top half of a duplex in Iraklion, about 2km from the ancient palace of Knossos. Rent was $45/month. On off days I'd meet tourists at the harbour, tell them I spoke good English and would take them anywhere they wanted to see on the island for $25/day. And most of the time what they wanted to see was places I like to go to anyway. Within walking or short bus ride there were bakeries, butcher shops, produce stands, plus street food like souvlaki stands. Olive oil right out of the press, wine from local wineries. During the couple of years I was there, I got to tour most of Europe with a Europass, made friends with one of the ship captains and could buy a deck class ticket and get upgraded to a suite to Athens. Was on a flight to Athens that got hijacked to Cairo. Sat in an outdoor taverna on a clear night with a crowd of mostly Greeks listening to the moon landing, and not everybody believed it was actually happening. Had an earthquake while I was in Athens for a few days and got home to find the quake had unplugged my fridge and left a horrible stinking mess of rotten chicken. Clean-up was miserable.

And occasionally, did a little work of consequence to get a couple of NSA commendations.

Salute to those in the real military who were less fortunate.

[Vrede too]

REMF

[O Really]

REMF

Yep - didn't know the term and had to look it up, but it fits comfortably.
Security people didn't get sent anywhere very dangerous - and if anything had come up, we'd probably get evacuated just ahead of the women and children. There was one unit that flew some large antenna-lined plane out of Da Nang. I don't think they lost any. Other sites were in Italy, Germany, England, Hawaii, and Alaska. The only site that sounded bad was Peshawar Pakistan, but guys who went there actually seemed to like it. Probably not so much now.

[Vrede too]

REMF

Yep - didn't know the term and had to look it up, but it fits comfortably.
Security people didn't get sent anywhere very dangerous - and if anything had come up, we'd probably get evacuated just ahead of the women and children. There was one unit that flew some large antenna-lined plane out of Da Nang. I don't think they lost any. Other sites were in Italy, Germany, England, Hawaii, and Alaska. The only site that sounded bad was Peshawar Pakistan, but guys who went there actually seemed to like it. Probably not so much now.

I learned it from Vietnam vets.


Commie grooming:
https://www.tiktok.com/@prillaprints/vi ... 3355122990
Article

I approve.

[Vrede too]

Thousands gather for Navalny’s funeral in Moscow despite threat of arrest

... Mourners clapped and chanted Navalny’s name as his coffin arrived at the church where his funeral took place. Others shouted “Putin is a killer” or “no to war.”

... He was later buried at Borisov Cemetery, where Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played as his coffin was lowered into the ground....


Thousands of mourners gather in Moscow to bid farewell to Navalny, March 1, 2024.

... Those waiting in line ahead of the service told CNN they had gathered to pay their respects to their “hero.” Marina said she had traveled from St. Petersburg because she “loved” Navalny.

“He was a true hero … I want to say to him ‘farewell,’” she said, adding that she was not surprised that the Kremlin had denied any involvement in Navalny’s death. “They demonstrate to the whole world we do what we want to do,” she said. “We can repress you.”

... At least 45 people were arrested across Russia on Friday for paying their respects to Navalny, monitoring group OVD Info reported. It said six people were detained in Moscow, while 18 were detained in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk – the largest number of any city. Another 10 were detained in Yekaterinburg for laying flowers.

... More than 400 people were detained at makeshift memorials for Navalny across 32 Russian cities, according to OVD-Info....

Heroes. Thousands of heroes.

[Vrede too]

Federal judge warns of Trump’s attacks in extraordinary rebuke

A sitting federal judge on Thursday harshly criticized Donald Trump’s attacks on the judge overseeing the former president’s criminal case tied to alleged hush money payments, telling CNN that such statements threaten the viability of the American legal system.

US District Judge Reggie Walton spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” in the wake of Trump’s attacks on Judge Juan Merchan, which helped prompt the New York judge to issue a gag order on the former president earlier this week. It is unusual for federal judges to speak publicly, especially about specific political or legal situations.

“It’s very disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge, and it’s particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they’re directed at one’s family,” said Walton, who has also faced threats, as has his daughter. “We do these jobs because we’re committed to the rule of law and we believe in the rule of law, and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm.”

US District Judge Reggie Walton was appointed by Shrub and is not one of TRE45QN's trial judges.

... “I think it’s important that, as judges, we speak out and say things in reference to things that conceivably are going to impact on the process, because if we don’t have a viable court system that’s able to function efficiently, then we have tyranny. And I don’t think that would be good for the future of our country, and the future of democracy in our country,” he continued....

Hero.

[Vrede too]

Pentagon intelligence officer quits in protest of Israel-Hamas war in Gaza

An Army officer within the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has resigned in protest over the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza, citing major ethical concerns for which he could not “justify staying silent any longer.”

In his resignation letter — officially submitted Nov. 1, distributed internally on April 16, and publicly released Monday on LinkedIn — Maj. Harrison Mann asserts that the U.S. government’s unquestioned backing of its ally has “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians.

“The policy that has never been far from my mind for the past six months is the nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians,” Mann wrote in his letter. “This unconditional support also encourages reckless escalation that risks wider war.”...

“Each of us signed up to serve, knowing we might have to support policies we weren’t fully convinced of,” Mann wrote. “At some point — whatever the justification — you’re either advancing a system that enables the mass starvation of children, or you’re not.”

Mann is among several U.S. officials to step down from their posts, citing disagreements with the administration over how it has been handling the Israel-Hamas war, sparked in October by deadly Hamas-led attacks in Israel.

Josh Paul, a State Department official in the bureau that oversees arms transfers, resigned in October over objections of the U.S. government’s decision to continue to arm the Israeli military.

Then in January, Tariq Habash, a key player in policy reform at the Department of Education, also resigned from his role due to disagreements with the administration’s stance on Gaza....

Will the genocide affect the election? Few lefties will flip to TRE45QN, but how many will just not vote?

[GoCubsGo]

Will the genocide affect the election? Few lefties will flip to TRE45QN, but how many will just not vote?

Understatement of the day.

It's going to be a very strange election.

[Vrede too]

Will the genocide affect the election? Few lefties will flip to TRE45QN, but how many will just not vote?

Understatement of the day.

It's going to be a very strange election.

Yup. As BRD's lone purple stater I'm still accepting bribes

Jewish American Biden Appointee Is Latest To Resign In Protest Of Gaza Policy
"President Biden has the blood of innocent people on his hands," said Lily Greenberg Call in her resignation letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

A high-level Biden appointee announced her resignation from the Interior Department on Wednesday in protest of the administration’s Gaza policy — joining the growing list of government officials speaking out against the continued U.S. support for Israel’s military offensive that over the past seven months has devastated the Palestinian enclave.

In her resignation letter, Lily Greenberg Call, the special assistant to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s chief of staff, Rachael Taylor, called President Joe Biden out by name and criticized his administration’s lack of condemnation.

“I joined the Biden Administration because I believe in fighting for a better America, for a future where Americans can thrive: one with economic prosperity, a healthy planet and equal rights for all people. I have dedicated my career to candidates who I believed would further this vision,” Call wrote in her resignation letter to Haaland.

“However, I can no longer, in good conscience, continue to represent this administration amidst President Biden’s disastrous, continued support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

Call has served as a special assistant to Taylor since February 2023. She was appointed to her position after working as a field organizer for Vice President Kamala Harris’ primary campaign in 2019 and then for Biden’s campaign in 2020.

Entrenched in Joltin' Joe's camp.

... Call appears to be the first Jewish American appointee of the Biden administration to resign in protest of U.S. policy on Gaza, stressing that she was raised in Jewish communities in the U.S., Israel and occupied Palestine.

“People in my community lost loved ones during Hamas’ attack on October 7th, beloveds killed, displaced and taken as hostages. I am terrified by rising antisemitism around the world,” Call wrote. “And yet I am certain that the answer to this is not to collectively punish millions of innocent Palestinians through displacement, famine and ethnic cleansing.”

“What I have learned from Jewish tradition is that every life is precious,” she continued. “That we are obligated to stand up for those facing violence and oppression, and to question authority in the face of injustice.”

Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza — including about 15,000 children — wounded nearly double that number, displaced most of the population, destroyed important infrastructure like hospitals, universities and mosques, targeted aid workers, journalists and doctors, and caused the spread of starvation, thirst and disease by continuing to block access to life-saving aid.

Throughout this offensive, the U.S. has provided nearly unconditional diplomatic and military support to Israel, publicly voicing concern over Palestinian safety while continuing to approve weapons sales and block accountability from international bodies.

“The United States has used nearly no leverage throughout the last eight months to hold Israel accountable; quite the opposite, we have enabled and legitimized Israel’s actions with vetoes of UN resolutions designed to hold Israel accountable,” Call wrote. “President Biden has the blood of innocent people on his hands.”

... Last week, the Biden administration faced severe criticism for its highly anticipated report to Congress, saying it’s “reasonable” to assess that Israel is violating international law by killing civilians and blocking aid into Gaza, but that Israel can continue receiving U.S. military support. On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that the Biden administration plans to send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, at a time when soldiers are increasing attacks on Palestinians across the strip while continuing to block humanitarian assistance.

“The United States has long enabled Israeli war crimes and the status quo of apartheid and occupation. That status quo does not keep Israelis safe, nor Jews around the world. It certainly does not protect Palestinians, who have the right to freedom, safety, self-determination and dignity, just as much as Jewish people do, and every person does,” Call wrote. “Any system that requires the subjugation of one group over another is not only unjust, but unsafe.”

“Jewish safety cannot — and will not — come at the expense of Palestinian freedom. Making Jews the face of the American war machine makes us less safe,” she continued. “What seems like a lack of awareness in the Administration leadership of how critical this issue is to the American public is devastating to both communities, and politically disastrous.”

Heroine.